Darkness Calls
by The Vampire Jewel
Summary: Kali Bauer has recently moved to Santa Carla to start again. She has managed to capture the eye of David, and after she finds her boyfriend with her best friend, Kali becomes closer to David and the Lost Boys, but will she cope when she finds out what
1. Time for a Change

Kali Bauer wandered out onto the front porch and made herself comfortable on the old couch, curling her legs up underneath her and hugging her body. She stared out at the afternoon sky, hues of orange and yellow stretching across it as the sun began its descent towards the horizon. She breathed out deeply, a heavy feeling of sadness filling her chest cavity.

Donna Crandell found her sitting in the same place yet again with the pensive stare. Making herself comfortable next to Kali, she put her arm around her and lay her head on her shoulder.

"I miss them Donns. Why did they have to die?" Kali asked quietly.

Donna tightened her grip around her. "Come on, come inside and I'll make you a nice cup of coffee," Donna coaxed. Kali nodded absently and let herself be guided inside.

It had been three months since they had moved to Santa Carla. On Donna's insistence, they had moved away from the bad memories in San Jose, to vibrant Santa Carla. Donna thought it would be a good move for Kali as she could start fresh and not have people stare pitifully at "the poor Bauer girl."

Her parents had died four months ago when their house had collapsed on them while they were sleeping following a large earthquake. Fortunately for Kali, she had stayed at Donna's that night. On returning home, she found a pile of rubble where her house had been. Living in San Jose proved to be too difficult, so Kali decided to move in with her boyfriend, Michael Larson, and Donna. Her parents would've been happy that she had decided to move in with people they knew and trusted. Santa Carla had appealed to Kali when Donna had suggested it as it was on the coast and was supposed to have an awesome boardwalk that was always happening.

They had moved into a nice little three-bedroom house, which was only five minutes from the boardwalk. Five minutes from all the action. There was always something going on, whether it was bonfires on the beach, concerts on the boardwalk or hoons nicking merchandise from stores and being chased through town. It was often speculated that Santa Carla was the "murder capital of the world". It made Kali laugh. A little coastal town like Santa Carla? She had neither seen nor heard anything that could prove the statement true. She was sure it was a tourism ploy!

As Kali sipped her hot coffee, the weight on her chest began to ease. She smiled at Donna, who smiled back. There was nothing like best friends. An hour later, Kali was in hysterics. You wouldn't have known it was the same girl who was depressed an hour previous. She was reminiscing with Donna about their school days, Donna retelling the story of how they'd met when Kali first started at Halliwell High.

Kali looked at her watch. The bell for lunch should be going any minute. She was starving, yet not eager to go outside. What was the point? So she could sit by herself and have the popular crowd make fun of her. Usually, it was just Callie Matheson. The other girls laughed along and said nothing. Kali had only been at Halliwell High for two weeks and already she hated it. Why had her parents wanted to move to San Jose anyway? Kali knew the answer to that but she had been so happy in Los Angeles and resented them for making her move. Her father's work had offered an employee the option to transfer to San Jose and her father had taken it, as he and her mother had wanted a change in environment. What about her? Did they even care that she hadn't wanted to move? Now, within a week, she had become the target of taunts. Kali was an attractive girl, yet not in the blonde, blue-eyed California girl way. She had beautiful long black hair, piercing green eyes and a slender body. She was very fair skinned, which was often the fuel that the girls would use to pick on her with, giving her names like "Goth Chic" and "Death Girl". Kali was also very alternative in her fashion sense. For example, today she had worn black hipster pants with a silver-studded black belt, black high-heeled boots, a punk-style black and red tank top that had safety pins down the sides and had tied her mane of hair into a ponytail. Her wrists and fingers were adorned with gothic bracelets and rings and she wore a black velvet choker with a large metallic red pendant around her neck. Kali rode her motorbike to school, which too had initiated taunts. She understood why they teased her. She was different and they obviously didn't like it but she wasn't going to conform to their standards.

Venturing outside, Kali headed towards the grassy area so she could sit quietly under a tree and not be harassed by anyone.

"Hey Death Girl?"

Kali stopped and looked witheringly in the direction of the voice. Or not. Callie Matheson had other ideas, beckoning Kali to her table. Against her better judgement, Kali walked over to her, gripping her satchel for support. Callie gave her the once over.

"Love the get up!" she sneered.

"What do you want Callie?"

"Well, it's like this…um…?" Callie looked to the heavens, as though she had forgotten Kali's name. Kali gave her a sickly sweet smile.

"Kali."

"Oh yeah, of course. Kali," she said mockingly. "Name doesn't really suit someone of your…type."

Kali glared at Callie. The other girls snickered. Kali had had enough. She was stupid to have even walked over in the first place.

"Do you have something you want to say Hitler or can I be dismissed?"

Snorts erupted from the girls at the table. The girl sitting across from Callie spoke then.

"Hey Callie, wanna bite of my donut?"

"Yeah sure."

The girl held out her donut as Callie opened her mouth to take a bite. To Kali's utter shock, the girl then proceeded to ram her half eaten donut into Callie's mouth. Kali snorted and giggled, looking over at the girl in astonishment. The girl smiled warmly back at her. Callie's eyes grew wide, her arms flapping around in distress as she spat out the donut. The girl grabbed Kali's arm and walked off with her to the other side of the campus

"You bitch!" Callie screamed after her.

The girl and Kali turned around and smirked, then continued walking. The girl pulled her down onto a vacant grassy spot and introduced herself.

"I'm sorry she gave you such a hard time. She is such a bitch. She's just one of those people who gets thrills out of hurting other people and watching them squirm, you know. I don't like that. You handled her really well though. I loved the Hitler comment! Thanks for giving me a perfect reason to tell her where to stick it. I'd had it up to here with her. I'm Donna by the way.I" Kali stared at her, wondering if she was going to come up for air. The two looked at each other for a moment, before breaking into hysterical giggles.

Snorts of laughter erupted from Kali and Donna.

"God, that was the funniest day wasn't it? Callie got her just desserts!"

"Yeah, I wonder what happened to her."

"She probably died of shock after the prom. Remember, she was expecting you to turn up in some weird and wonderful outfit? Instead, you went in soft black silk and looked so beautiful."

Kali smiled, remembering that night. It had been a big change for her. She had worn a long black silk skirt that sat on her hips and showed off her belly ring and a black silk strapless, backless top that had a small tie at the back. Her shoes were black with diamante straps that wrapped around her ankles. To accessorise, she had worn a thick black beaded choker and matching bracelet with small dangly silver earrings. Her hair had been piled loosely on her head with bits dangling at the back and a long loose bit down the side of her face. It was the probably the one and only time she had ever dressed that way. Boy, had she turned heads that night. People barely recognised her, including Callie.

Michael sauntered into the kitchen then. He walked behind Kali and put his arms around her neck, planting kisses all over it.

Kali had met Michael two years ago at a party that she and Donna had gone to. Kali had been instantly attracted to him as he was to her. He was very good-looking, with his soft brown curly hair, bright blue eyes and sexy smile. It wasn't long before he and Kali started seeing each other and eventually became an item. Donna was jealous at first, as she had been attracted to him too, although she got over it quickly. Kali was her best friend, so she was happy for her.

Kali glanced up at the clock on the wall. Shit, it was ten minutes to four and her shift was due to start at four! She wasn't even ready. Jumping up suddenly from her stool, Kali ran like a madwoman through the house, leaving Michael mid-kiss. She quickly threw on something to wear for work, eventually deciding on her long bell-bottomed sleeved emerald-green dress that was made from soft velvet and came all the way to the floor. She complemented the dress with an emerald-green choker and earrings that offset her illustrious green eyes. She grabbed her hair and pulled it back into a sleek ponytail. Kali could feel a headache beginning to form. She hoped it would go away, but just to be sure, she quickly downed two painkillers. A headache was not something she wanted to deal with at work. Kali looked up at the clock. She ran back into the kitchen and found Michael & Donna making themselves something to eat.

"Alright guys, gotta fly, I'm running late!"

Donna waved goodbye as she had a mouth full of food. Michael pulled her in for a lingering kiss goodbye.

"I might be a little late coming home. We just a received a huge shipment of new stuff and we don't get much of an opportunity during the day to unpack it all."

Michael's face dropped a bit. "OK then, I'll see you when you get home. I'm making baked macaroni & cheese, so I'll save some for you." Kali grinned.

"Thanks," and kissed him again, then ran out the door. Fortunately, she didn't have to go very far. Her work was a five-minute walk away. Kali had managed to find herself a job fairly easily after moving to Santa Carla. She worked at the "Enchanted Forest", one of those Middle Eastern influenced stores that were full of incense, beautiful and unusual ornaments, Kalilery and knick-knacks. She loved it and was a wonderful haven for her. Santa Carla was always busy, no matter what time of day, so she wasn't surprised that the store was crowded when she walked in. Putting her bag out the back, Kali said a quick hello to her colleagues and began helping a customer.

By seven o'clock, things had settled down. Kali was sitting on the floor at the rear of the store unpacking a small box of ornaments and putting them on the shelf. The problem with working in this place was that she often bought lots of things. Of course at a discount rate, but her wardrobe & ornament collection had doubled over the past few months, while her savings had halved! As she was unpacking one of the boxes, she found a small pack of beKaliled tiger lily ornaments. Kali smiled, remembering the time when she had given Donna a bunch of tiger lilies as a present when one of her many boyfriends had dumped her for Callie Matheson. Donna had been so overwhelmed and she had made a point of telling Kali that she would love tiger lilies forever. It was their friendship flower and was often given to the other when they were sad or just to say I love you heaps. Kali kept one aside, and would take it home for Donna tonight as a surprise.

Rubbing her forehead, she was starting to feel worse than when she'd left home. The painkillers hadn't done a great deal for her headache and it was starting to make her eyes quite heavy. Her manager Arielle walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kali, you've been unpacking that box for the last hour. Is everything OK?"

Kali looked up at her. "Yeah mostly, but I've got this headache that seems to be getting worse. I took a couple of painkillers before I left home, but they haven't really done much. I hope it's not a migraine."

Arielle looked at her sympathetically. "Why don't you go home sweetie?"

Kali deliberated with the idea. On one hand she wanted to stay as they had a lot to do and she'd feel guilty if she left. At the same time, she wouldn't be much good to anyone the way she was.

"Yeah I might Arielle. Will you guys be OK?"

"We'll be fine. Just go home and get some rest."

Kali smiled. "Thankyou. I'll see you tomorrow."

Arielle nodded. Kali grabbed her bag, paid for the tiger lily and waved to Karli on her way out.

"You take care OK?" Karli called out.

"I will!" she called back.

Kali ambled her way through the mob of people swarming along the boardwalk. She was glad the walk home was only short as her head was really beginning to throb. A familiar sound of engines roaring came from behind her. She turned around to see the usual gang of youths on their motorbikes, tearing along the boardwalk, whooping and yahooing, and generally trying to stir up the crowd. Kali smiled, thinking that they weren't doing any real harm, just trying to get people to react to their obnoxious behaviour. She noticed though that one of them wasn't as loud as the others. He seemed to just keep an eye on what they were doing. Well, they weren't hurting anyone so that was the main thing. Beisdes, it looked like they were having fun. Kali turned off the boardwalk and headed for home.


	2. Love Hurts

David noticed the girl in the green dress watching them. He had been watching her for a couple of weeks now. The resemblance made the hairs on his neck stand up. It was almost as though he were looking at a ghost. He smiled to himself, thinking she had the same intriguing aura to her. David decided to follow her at a distance, advising his boys that he was going to put his "plan" into action. When he reached her house, he watched her go inside and waited.

As Kali closed the front door behind her, she noticed that the house was unusually quiet. A few lights were on, but there was basically silence. There was no music playing or TV blaring. Kali poked her head into the lounge room. Plates, forks and knives scattered the coffee table. It was unlike Donna to leave a mess. Kali's heart began to pound a little faster. She hoped everything was OK and clutched the tiger lily in her hand as though for protection. She peeked her head around the corner to her room. It was empty. As she headed down the hall, she could hear faint noises coming from Donna's room. "Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world" ran through her head then which didn't help her nerves. The door to Donna's room was ajar so Kali pushed it open carefully and froze. Of all the scenarios that had gone through her head, this was not one of them so she was not prepared for what awaited her in that room. She wanted to be sick, not believing what she was seeing. She watched them for a moment in total revulsion. Neither of them had even noticed that she was there. Kali's mouth slowly dropped open, as did her hand that held the tiger lily. It hit the wooden floor with a crash, shattering pieces everywhere. This startled the treacherous couple, who, realising they had been caught, madly scrambled to cover themselves. Kali couldn't move. They looked over at her like rabbits caught in headlights. Eventually, Michael spoke.

"Kali…" but that was as far as he got.

Kali managed to find her feet and ran to her room, locking the door. She leaned her back against it, trying to regain her composure. As her shock subsided, the reality began to set in. Kali's eyes brimmed with tears. Tears of bitterness, hurt, anger and betrayal. As the first tear slowly found its way down her cheek, Kali sank to the floor. Not able to contain herself any longer, the tears began to flow freely. Michael began banging on the door.

"Kali baby, I can explain!" he slurred. It was quite obvious to her that he was extremely drunk. Kali wasn't interested in hearing his explanations. There was nothing to explain. Nothing he could say would make it any easier or OK.

Kali calmed herself, and as she did, she felt anger begin to take hold of her. She picked herself up from the floor and began stripping off her clothes. There was only one way to cope with this. Kali changed into her black leather pants, a black fitted T-Shirt and her lace up boots. She needed to get out and think. It was time to show Black Goddess the streets of Santa Carla. She scrabbled around for her keys and quickly laced up her boots. Donna tried to appeal to her through the door.

"Kali…I-I'm so sorry …"

Kali felt a fire rising from the pit of her stomach. Donna was drunk too, although it sounded a little less so than Michael. "Sorry you did it, or sorry I caught you?" Kali snarled back.

Kali flung open the door, which took Donna by surprise and made her flinch. As Donna and Kali looked into each other's eyes, many thoughts were passed between them. Kali looked over at Michael. His eyes would not meet hers. They kept darting around, looking everywhere but directly at her. Awkward glances were exchanged, but words were not. Looking between them, Kali shook her head slowly, her lip curling. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She shoved past them, not wanting them to see her cry. Donna grabbed Kali's arm.

"Kali wait…"

Something snapped inside Kali then, and without a lot of conscious thought, she spun around and punched Donna, sending her flying backwards. Donna screamed, cradling her throbbing cheek in her palm. Michael looked over at Kali incredulously, eyes wide, not believing what had just happened. He was met with a cold, hard stare and a face devoid of emotion. Kali whipped her head around and stormed out of the house. She took Black Goddess out of the garage, throwing her leg over as she started her up and sped off. Michael watched her from the window, and ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes.

As Donna slowly sat up, she noticed something sparkling out of the corner of her eye. She shuffled her body slowly over to it. It was a small piece of some sort of ornament. She found other pieces scattered on the floor. Once she had most of the pieces in her hand, her stomach lurched, knowing in an instant what it was. Donna hung her head and sobbed.


	3. Meeting David

David had watched her come back out of the house within minutes after having gone in. He definitely wasn't expecting her to emerge so quickly. She looked very angry, which aroused his curiosity. He gave her a few seconds head start before taking off after her.

Kali sped through suburban Santa Carla, tearing up and down the streets and alleyways. Each time she felt her anger rise a notch; she increased the speed of Black Goddess a notch too. The faster she went, the better she felt. Kali's anger began to subside a little, giving way to hurt and sadness again. She stopped at a quiet spot along the boardwalk and cut the engine. Her breathing was heavy and rapid as she tried to come to terms with what had just happened. Kali hung her head and sobbed. It just didn't make sense. How could they have done this to her? Moreover, what had triggered this? She was so happy with Michael and he had been happy with her, or so she thought. He had not mentioned anything to her or given her any indication that he was unhappy. And Donna! After all they'd been through!

Kali hopped off Black Goddess and walked over to the railing. Looking up, she stared out at the black, inky ocean. It was so calm, and beautifully lit by the light of the full moon. Kali sighed deeply, trying to drink in its serenity.

"Nice bike! You know, you're pretty tough to keep up with!" a gravely voice said from behind her. Kali flung her head around at the sound of a voice. In front of her stood a young man dressed in all black, a long black trench coat, platinum blonde hair and an earring in his left ear. She recognised him as one of the youths that frequented the boardwalk on their motorbikes. Kali's guard instantly went up. What did he want with her?

"Why, were you following me?"

He smirked. "Yes."

Kali was a little taken aback by his candour. "And why, may I ask, were you following me?"

"I wanted to meet you."

Kali's pulse quickened. Why was he was being so evasive, she wondered? And what was with that annoying smirk?

"OK, why is _that_?"

"Well, I've seen you around and you intrigue me. I'm drawn to intriguing people."

"Oh, well uh, no offense, but I really need to be alone right now." She turned her back on him then. Kali knew she was being rude, but she was not really in the mood to care. She just wanted to be alone, begging him silently to go away.

David decided to play his trump card he knew would get her attention. "Kali, it's in your interest not to ignore me."

Kali froze and swallowed hard. How the hell did this guy know her name? She turned around again and looked back at him, unnerved. David noticed the sudden change in her demeanour, and felt satisfied that he had managed to unsettle her. He knew this would give him the upper hand.

"How do you know my name?" she asked nervously.

David grinned. "I've done my homework."

Kali stared directly into his eyes, searching them, wondering what he _really _wanted with her. "Who _are_ you?"

"Let's just say I'm someone who admires you."

Kali closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. "Look, I don't know who you are or what you want, but I'm really not in the mood for your fucking games. I left work early tonight because I had a goddamn headache, and what do I get home to find? My boyfriend and my best friend in bed together. So, tonight is _not_ a good night to mind fuck me OK? Maybe some other time." With that, she hopped back on Black Goddess.

David came up behind her and put his mouth close to her ear. "This isn't the first time they've done this to you."

Kali turned her head sharply and looked closely at him. As she did, she noticed his eyes were almost entirely black with very little white area. This unsettled her a little as it was creepy. Her face was now inches from his. Feeling uncomfortable with the current level of intimacy, Kali jumped off Black Goddess again, backing away from him.

"How the hell do you know that?" Kali exploded. "Oh, I get it. You obviously want something from me right? Well, how about we cut all this cat and mouse bullshit and you just tell me what the hell that _something_ is! And for god sake, are you going to tell me _your_ name or am I just going to call you "the creepy blonde guy"?" she railed.

David laughed. He liked her feisty spirit. Kali folded her arms across her chest, glowering at him, daring him to respond. He intimidated a lot of people, but not this girl. She was fearless. He felt an instant respect for her, and decided to answer her question.

"My name's David."

Kali raised an eyebrow at him. "Good, that's a start. So _David,_ tell me what you want with me?" she said scornfully.

"I think it would be better to show you, but you'll have to come with me."

Kali looked at him in disbelief. "You've got to be joking. How stupid do you think I am? You think I'm just going to go with you, no questions asked? I don't even know you! How do I know you're not going to chop me up into little pieces?" Kali screeched. She knew the last bit was a tad extreme, but after all, Santa Carla _was _the murder capital of the world, wasn't it?

David laughed uproariously, which annoyed her. "Kali, if I wanted to hurt you like that, I could've done it before tonight or even whilst we've been standing here talking. That's not my intention."

"And what is your intention?"

"Come with me and I'll show you."

Kali took a deep breath. She eyed David with scepticism, but something told her, he wasn't going to hurt her. He did have a point – he could've done it already. It still puzzled her as to why it was crucial for him to _show_her. Kali shrugged her shoulders. "Alright fine. Let's go." She made her way over to Black Goddess, but David stopped her.

"We'll take my bike."

Kali shook her head. "Oh no. I'm not leaving her here. Someone will steal it for sure!"

"I'll show you where you can park it, and no one will know it's even there." He showed her to a large surround of shrubbery, and to Kali's surprise, it kept the bike well hidden. She did have an immobiliser on the engine, so it would be hard to steal anyway. It made her a little nervous to think of Black Goddess being left unattended, but David had obviously done this before to know about the little hiding spot.


	4. Getting to Know You

Butterflies fluttered in Kali's stomach as she climbed on to David's bike. She grabbed his waist as he abruptly sped off along the boardwalk. He weaved in and out of the crowd expertly, showing off. Kali closed her eyes and began to relax. She loved the feeling of being on a motorbike, the wind whipping her hair and face and not having to concentrate on the road. She found it quite soothing and erotic. It was the feeling of freedom and speed, as though nothing else in the world mattered. David took a sudden sharp turn onto Santa Carla beach, snapping Kali from her reverie.

Further along the beach, David's posse sat around a fire drum, gearing up for the evening. They knew David was going to try and introduce himself to this "Kali" girl tonight. The boys knew that David had been infatuated with her for some time now. He hadn't said a lot, but they would watch him watch her. He would sit outside the store where she worked most nights, just so he could look at her. Even though David never admitted it, they each knew why he was so infatuated with her. Sitting around the fire, the three boys laughed jovially, patiently waiting for their leader to return. Marko looked up then, seeing a bright light in the distance and hearing the faint hum of an engine. He alerted Paul and Dwayne.

"Hey dudes, David's back," and he pointed down the beach. The others looked up and saw the light drawing nearer, the hum of the engine becoming louder. Soon enough, David had joined them, coming to a sliding stop, sending a wave of sand over the boys. They grumbled about it, but ultimately didn't really care. David dismounted, revealing his new "friend", who made her way over to join him.

"Boys, this is Kali. Kali's going to be hanging out with us for a while." He turned to Kali. "Kali, this is Dwayne, Marko & Paul," and pointed to each as he spoke.

Kali raised her hand in an awkward hello gesture and smile. Marko gave David a signal then and David shook his head. Kali looked at them strangely, wondering what that had meant.

"Alright boys, lets ride!" David announced, getting back on his bike and motioning to Kali to join him. The others hopped on their bikes and they all sped off towards the boardwalk.

It was three o'clock in the morning before Kali returned home. It had been a very strange night indeed. The boys were nice enough, but Kali was confused as to why David wanted her with them. She was too tired to think now and would try and work it out tomorrow. David wanted to see her again the next night and Kali had told him she would think about it. She parked Black Goddess back in the garage and let herself silently into the house. Kali stripped and flopped into bed exhausted. She lay awake in bed for the next two hours, sleep eluding her, her mind having to many things to deal with. Eventually, her eyes became heavy and she drifted off to sleep.

When Kali woke, it felt as though she had only been asleep for half an hour. She looked over at her clock. It read ten o'clock. It felt as though someone had run over her with a steamroller. Deciding to give up on sleeping, Kali dragged herself out of bed, thinking a shower would make her feel better. She wandered down the hallway to the sound of Michael and Donna fighting in the kitchen. Kali pressed herself against the wall and listened quietly.

"I told you we should've said something! Now look what's happened?" Donna was saying.

"Well, I wasn't expecting her to come home early? As far as we knew, she was working late!" Michael protested back. Kali couldn't believe her ears. They were fighting over her and it sounded as though something _had_ been going on previous to last night, which meant David had told her the truth. How had he known? Kali walked past the kitchen, everything became eerily silent as they noticed her presence. She looked at them briefly and kept walking. Neither of them came after her or tried to call out to her. Kali was glad anyway as she didn't want to talk to either of them. She continued to the bathroom and slammed the door, making both of them jump. Donna looked sheepishly up at Michael, and chewed her lip before walking into her own room and slamming the door.

Kali closed her eyes and let the hot water envelop and soothe her body. She moved her head around so that water was directly hitting her neck. Oh, that was good. All too soon, the water started to go cold, so she begrudgingly had to jump out. As she wrapped her towel around her warm body, she grinned wickedly, hoping either Michael or Donna would want a shower soon. She quickly dressed, deciding to spend her time before work wandering the boardwalk, so she didn't have to speak to Michael or Donna. On the way out, she caught Michael's eye, who looked shamefully at her. Kali's lip trembled as she tried to blink back tears. Without a word, she turned and headed out the door.


	5. Moving On

Meandering along the boardwalk in the sun had a wonderful healing effect on Kali. Her stomach had unclenched and her body was slowly relaxing. Unwittingly, she found herself looking out for David and the boys, but they were nowhere to be seen. She bought a cup of frozen yoghurt and made herself comfortable at one of the tables overlooking the beach. Kali checked her watch. It was only two thirty which meant she had an hour and a half to kill before work started. She rested her chin in her hand and watched all the people go by. Santa Carla was crawling with tourists and weirdos. It was always interesting to watch. One guy walked past who looked like he had an enormous blonde sea urchin protruding from his head. Kali snickered. A girl walked past wearing a similar style of fashion to hers, which made her smile. The gypsy top she was wearing bared her midriff, showing off her belly ring. It was a silver barbell with purple Kalis at each end. Kali thought it looked really nice and wondered what it would be like to have one. She looked down at her own belly and pulled the skin near her navel. After little deliberation, she decided she would get her belly pierced too. Wandering into the piercing store, Kali spoke to the girl at the counter and she said that they could pierce it for her today, but there were a couple of people in front of her. Kali was happy to wait so she began looking at the jewellery. She finally found one that she liked. It was the same as the girl's she had seen, except instead of the purple stones, she chose garnets. When it was her turn, Kali collected all her strength and gritted her teeth as the needle went through her navel. Once they had finished, she looked in the mirror to admire their handiwork. It looked great. It had made her feel better too. Ellie, the girl who had pierced her was very nice and advised her how to look after it to make sure it didn't get infected. Kali walked out of the store and onto the boardwalk to see the sun going down. Wow, what time was it? Kali looked at her watch. It was a quarter to four. That was good timing! She kept looking down at her belly, admiring her new piercing. As she had on a black midriff top and a long black hipster skirt, the red stones stood out nicely against her alabaster skin.

When Kali wandered into work, Clare was the first to see her. She rushed up to her, noticing her belly ring.

"Wow, that looks great Kali! Did you just get that done?" Kali nodded, beaming.

"Cool, now you can get all the different funky Kalilery for it. We have heaps!"

"Oh great, more money! Like I don't spend enough. It's probably a good thing I can't change it for three months."

Clare laughed. The store was a little quieter today, which was welcomed. The first couple of hours, Arielle, Kali and Clare had mostly stood around talking and checking out the belly ring Kalilery. Kali actually was pleased for the break. A few customers were milling around the store, but it wasn't as busy as usual. Kali noticed a girl standing at the counter waiting to be served. Clare and Arielle were busy checking some stock, so she walked over to help the girl.

"Hi, how are you?"

The girl smiled. "Great! This store rocks man! I came in to buy a present, but I had such a hard time picking only a few things!"

"I know how that is!" Kali laughed. She took the items from the customer and began wrapping them up for her.

"Oh, hang on a sec, I just saw something else!" The girl ran off to get the item she'd seen while Kali continued wrapping her things in nice purple tissue, making sure to take the prices off. The girl ran back to the counter, almost out of breath.

"Wow, this is beautiful. Piper loves these, I'm so glad I saw it!"

Kali looked down at the last minute trinket, her smile fading instantly. Of all things the girl could've chosen, she'd chosen the tiger lily. Her stomach lurched, all the memories of the past 24 hours flooding back to her. Clare noticed the cloud that had crossed Kali's face.

"What, did I say something wrong?" the girl asked.

Kali's eyes were fixed to the tiger lily, fighting back the urge to cry, but it didn't work. The floodgates opened and the tears came pouring out of her. She mumbled an apology and ran out the back. Clare ran after her. The poor girl standing at the counter was confused as to what was going on. Arielle jumped in and finished the sale, apologising profusely to the customer.

"Kali, what's wrong?"

Clare helped her sit down and put an arm around her. It was the first time she had really let go since it had happened. Between sobs, she managed to tell Clare the whole sordid story. Arielle, finished with serving the customer, walked out the back wondering what had happened. Clare had her arms around Kali, who was crying.

"Kali? What happened? Was the customer rude to you?"

Kali looked up at her with a tear-stained face. Kali shook her head.

"Yesterday, I had bought Donna a tiger lily as a surprise because it was our friendship flower. She'd cheered me up when I was feeling melancholy yesterday and it was meant to be a thank you present. When I left early last night, I came home to find Michael and Donna in bed together. I'm sorry Arielle, I didn't mean lose it. I just…" she trailed off. Having to repeat herself spouted a fresh set of tears. Kali tried to compose herself.

Arielle softened. "I'm so sorry sweetie. That's an awful thing to ever have happen to you."

Kali smiled at Arielle and Clare. Kali sniffed loudly. "I'll be OK. I'm just still in a bit of shock."

Arielle looked sympathetically at her. "OK, well take a few minutes, and come out when you're ready."

Clare followed her, turning to look back at Kali. "It's OK Clare, go. I'll be there in a sec." Taking a few deep breaths and wiping her eyes, Kali made her way back out to the floor.

A few hours later, Kali was fixing the display under the counter, after she had ransacked half of the Kalilery for her collection. When she stood up, she came face to face with a familiar smirk. His sudden presence made her gasp.

"David, you scared me."

"A little jumpy aren't we?

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to be there when I stood up."

What time you finish work?"

"About five minutes." She looked over at Dwayne, Marko and Paul who were admiring dragon statues that had different coloured crystal balls in them. She hoped that they'd keep their hands to themselves.

An attractive girl entered the store and as she walked past, Paul wolf-whistled. Dwayne and Marko snickered.

Kali shot David a look. "Get them out of here! My manager will have a conniption!"

"You got it. See you outside in a few minutes then?" His eyes bore into hers for a few moments, before he turned and left the store, the boys following him. Dwayne caught her eye on the way out and smiled. If Kali had any thought of trying to avoid them tonight, it had been squashed. Paul winked at the girl on his way out. She rolled her eyes and turned away in disgust. Kali breathed out once they'd gone, not even realising she had been holding it. She quickly finished arranging the front counter, then ducked out the back to collect her bag. Arielle was waiting for her.

"Who was that Kali?"

"Who?"

"The guy at the front counter a minute ago?"

"Just a friend," she replied offhandedly.

Arielle looked at her in an almost motherly way. "You know I never interfere in either yours or Clare's personal lives, but I just want to say … be careful. I've seen those guys on the boardwalk before, stirring people and generally causing trouble. If they are friends of yours, that's your decision, but I'd appreciate it if they didn't come into the store. They scare the customers."

"OK. I'll let them know to wait outside for me in the future. You know, they're not as bad as everyone thinks. They're just young and want to have fun. A little devious maybe, but they're OK."

"Alright, well I'll see you tomorrow."

"OK, bye."

Kali could tell Arielle didn't agree with her. Oh well, it was opinion. Just before she left the store, Kali turned around. "Arielle?"

Arielle looked up from the stock she was shelving. Kali smiled at her. "Thanks for looking out for me."

Arielle smiled and nodded.


	6. Suspiscion arises

Kali walked out to find David and crew waiting for her, casually leaning against their bikes. Paul and Marko were making fun of people that were walking past while Dwayne stood silently, brooding about something. When Kali reached the group, David put his arm around her.

"Well, well. Our little gem's back."

Kali felt a little uncomfortable by this gesture, but she let it go for now.

The other boys hopped on their bikes and revved their engines.

"Hey, that's nice," Dwayne commented, pointing to her belly.

Kali looked down at her belly, then back up at him and smiled awkwardly. "Thanks, I got it done today."

David inspected her belly. "Very sexy. It goes with you," he whispered in her ear.

Kali blushed. As she went to climb onto the back of his bike, she realised it was going to be a little more difficult tonight as she had a long skirt on. She hiked it up, bunching it in her lap and showing off long toned legs. Three sets of eyes were on her, sly grins upon their faces. When Kali realised why everything had suddenly become quiet, she looked at them witheringly.

"Oh, grow up guys!"

The three actually looked embarrassed at having been confronted.

"So, we gonna go down to the beach and drink some beers or what?" Paul asked impatiently.

"Beers it is. Let's ride boys!" David announced.

The gang headed down to the quieter part of the beach, finding an abandoned fire drum and making themselves comfortable on the soft sand. David handed Kali a beer. She took it gratefully and drank it, even though she didn't really like beer all that much. At that moment, anything would've been good.

"So Kali, how long have you been in Santa Carla?" Marko asked curiously.

"About three months."

"That all? What made you decide to move here?"

Kali was silent for a few moments before she answered. "You remember that big earthquake that hit a few months ago?"

They nodded.

"Well, I came home one afternoon from staying at a friend's to find a pile of rubble where my house used to be. Both my parents were killed," she finished quietly.

The boys looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Anyway, my best friend suggested that after a month of me not coping, we should move somewhere together and start fresh. I'd always wanted to visit Santa Carla and I used to talk about it quite a bit. Donna made some enquiries and before I knew it, she, my boyfriend Michael and I had moved into a three-bedroom place just five minutes from the boardwalk. I got a job fairly quickly too and just tried to keep going. I still have days when it's really hard. I mean, not a day goes past when I don't think about them. But here's the award winner. I came home last night to find Donna and Michael screwing each other. The two that were supposedly trying to help me recover and get my life back in order, ended up doing the total opposite."

Dwayne muttered "Bitch" at the same time Paul muttered "Asshole".

Kali took a large gulp of beer. "So yeah, now I have no parents, no boyfriend and no best friend. Nobody. Cool huh? I wished I'd stayed in San Jose. At least I knew people there."

"Would you go back?" Dwayne pressed.

Kali looked at him for a moment before answering. "No, not now. A couple of months ago I would've, but I like it here. Santa Carla is my home now and I don't plan on moving again."

"That's good to hear. Besides, you have us now." David said, lighting a cigarette.

"Yeah," the others agreed.

It was nice to know she still had people that wanted to be with her. She downed the last of her beer in one gulp. Her head spun slightly, but she didn't care. She was just going to have fun and enjoy herself with her new friends. Kali thought they were a little on the strange side, but no more than anyone else in Santa Carla. David puzzled her though. He always seemed as though he were hiding something. David handed her another beer, which led to a chinking of bottles between all and each sculling a large portion of their drinks. Paul coughed and spluttered beer everywhere, which sent the rest into bursts of laughter.

"What's wrong Paul? Can't hold your alcohol?" Kali teased.

An hour or so later, David jumped up. "Kali, we gotta go and take care of some stuff, so how about we meet you back on the boardwalk in half an hour?"

"You're ditching me? Why can't I just come with you?"

"Because it's guy stuff."

Kali stood up in protest, folding her arms across her chest angrily. "Guy stuff? So you want me to be a part of your gang only when it suits you, otherwise it's just 'Fuck off' and we'll come back for you when we're ready. Well you can stick that!"

"Kali, you don't understand …" David began.

"Damn right I don't! Look forget it OK. I'll just go back to the boardwalk and do 'girl stuff'. I'll see you later." She turned and headed down the beach in exasperation. Why had David wanted her to be a part of them so desperately, only to discard her when it was inconvenient? Well they've got another thing coming if they think that she's going to be their beck and call girl!

"Kali wait!" David called, running after her. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

"What?" she said impatiently.

David's usually hard face softened a little. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings and it's not what you think. We do want you with us. There's just…things that we always do that only the four of us do. I can't really explain it. Please don't walk away angry." She noticed he looked genuinely upset that she would walk away. She didn't know why she was so desperate to give him a chance, but she found herself relenting anyway.

"Alright David. I'll meet you in half an hour."

He smiled. "Good girl. See you soon."

Kali headed back to the boardwalk and wandered around, waiting for David and the boys to return. She really liked all of them and she knew they liked her, but why all the secrecy? Kali resigned to the fact that she would probably find out eventually. At the same time, she wasn't going to be snubbed when it didn't suit them either. David had also mentioned last night that he that it was in her interest not to ignore him. What had he meant by that? She would definitely have to ask him.

Kali stopped and looked at one of the Kalilery stands, wanting to buy a new choker. There were so many unusual styles. One jumped out at her, so she decided to take it. It was a black velvet choker that had small deep red rhinestones set into it, and matched her belly ring perfectly. Kali removed her old necklace and put on the new one. As she was admiring her purchase in the mirror, she noticed a familiar figure walk up behind her.

"It looks good on you."

She turned around to find Michael standing in front of her, eyes full of remorse and sadness. For the first time in two nights, Kali didn't walk away from him. She breathed out deeply, steeling herself for the inevitable confrontation.

"What're you doing here Michael?" Kali asked quietly.

He made a move toward her, but she moved away, letting him know that she was in no mood to be intimate.

"I just want to talk to you."

Kali shrugged her shoulders. "So talk," she answered coldly.

Michael looked awkwardly around him. "Can we go somewhere a little more private?"

Not answering him, she walked past him towards a quieter part of the boardwalk. Kali turned back to face him and folded her arms across her chest. After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

"Look…Kali…I am so sorry I hurt you. We both feel awful about what happened."

Kali stared at him. "I have one word for you Michael. Why?"

Michael looked down at his shoes and shifted nervously. He shook his head slightly, not knowing how to answer her. "I-I do want to try and sort this out. I don't want this to ruin our entire relationship," he said quietly.

Kali looked at him in bewilderment. "You don't want this to ruin our relationship? You fuck my best friend and you betray my trust, but you don't want this to ruin our relationship? As far as I'm concerned, there is no relationship anymore. And as for Donna, well…" and she shook her head in repulsion. "I just don't get it Michael. All I keep asking myself is why? What did I do?"

He tried to take her hand, but she snatched it away.

"Don't Michael, please. I'm finding it hard enough to talk to you right now, let alone touch you. If I have done something or something has happened, please have the decency to be honest with me."

Michael looked awkwardly at her, seemingly trying to compose his words. Kali was starting to get agitated.

"For someone that wanted to talk, you're being awfully quiet!" she snipped.

He shrugged his shoulders and looked up at her. "I don't know what else to say except I am _truly_ sorry. We were both pretty drunk at the time and ... "

Kali fought back tears, her lip trembling. "Michael, I heard you two arguing yesterday morning about how 'you should've said something' and 'you weren't expecting me to come home early'. I don't know, but that kinda tells me that something had been going on before then. I mean, for fuck's sake, you're standing here apparently trying to apologise to me and you can't even be honest," she said sadly.

Kali noticed a sudden panic cross Michael's face. She could see that he was trying desperately to think of an excuse, however his hesitation told her all she needed to know.

"You didn't think I heard that, did you? So you just lied to me again," she finished quietly. "I don't understand. I thought we had something…"

"We do Kali…" he interrupted.

"No, _we_ don't anymore. It's over Michael. You know, I tried to ignore all the rumours that you were a bit of a field player. I ignored them because I knew what you were like with me and I never felt insecure. I guess leopards can't change their spots, huh." Kali turned to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm.

"Let me go Michael. It's over. I'm going to pack my stuff and find somewhere else to live as soon as I can. I don't want to be involved or around either of you." She tried to leave again, however he tightened his grip on her arm.

"Don't make this any harder than it is."

He shook his head. "I'm not ready to let you go Kali. I want us to get through this."

"Oh don't be ridiculous. You gave that right up when you decided to sleep around behind my back. There is no more 'us' and you don't deserve absolution." She moved to leave again, and again Michael resisted.

"Kali, don't do this. Just come with me. Please."

Her anger was rising quicker by the second. "I am _not _going _anywhere_ with you. Read my lips Michael. It is over. Finished. And don't beg, it's really pathetic."

Michael grabbed her other arm then, tying both behind her back.

Kali rolled her eyes. "Will you stop behaving like a child?"

"Kali, you're putting me in this position. I don't want to hurt you."

"Believe me, I think I could do you more damage than you could do me."

He scoffed at this. "You just don't want to listen to reason!"

"Me listen to reason? Oh that's rich!" she retorted. Still, he made no attempt to let her go.

"Look, my friends will be back soon. I suggest you let me go before they get here. They're not the kind of people you want to piss off."

"Really? Well, thanks for the warning."

All of a sudden, a roar of engines and bright lights surrounded them, shining into their faces.

"Everything OK Kali?" came a voice, which she recognised as Dwayne's.

"Fine, Dwayne. My friend here was just leaving."

"Not without you," he whispered in her ear. Neither of them moved for a few seconds.

"Let her go Michael," David said calmly.

Michael furrowed his brow in confusion. "Hey, how the fuck do you know my name man?"

David emitted a low, evil laugh. "I know a lot about a lot of people. Now let her go and no one will get hurt."

"Well, you don't waste time do you Kali!" Michael taunted childishly.

"Oh get over yourself. David's a friend, as are all of these guys."

"Ohhh, so this is what you've been doing for the last couple of nights. Hangin' out with the local boardwalk trash. Classy Kali."

Paul moved to hop off his bike and pound the guy, but David signalled to him not to.

"Michael, I'm going to ask you nicely one more time to let her go." David stared hard at him, his eyes warning him not to go too far.

"Trust me Michael, you don't want to piss him off," Kali warned.

Michael made no attempt to let her go, so Kali took things into her own hands, knowing David would hurt him a lot more than she would. She manoeuvred out of his grip and pinned him to the ground. The boys, including David, started at her in awe and disbelief. Michael coughed, as he felt the wind knocked out of him. He looked up at her, eyes wide in incredulity, not believing she had him pinned to the ground. He had never seen this side of her and it shocked him. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Kali finally spoke.

"Goodbye Michael," she said quietly, and with that pulled herself off him and climbed onto the back of David's bike.

The boys all nodded in admiration and sneered at Michael, who was lying helplessly on the ground. Michael looked up, meeting David's gaze. David smirked at him, and then zoomed off down the boardwalk with the other three in close pursuit.


	7. Can't go on

Kali took a deep breath. That had to be one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. It was difficult trying to come to terms with the fact that the man she had loved for the past two years had betrayed and hurt her the way he had. And what about her best friend? So much for their friendship! As far as she was concerned, neither of them existed in her world any longer. Karma would get them though, when they least expected it.

Over the two nights that she had known David, Kali felt strangely like she had become quite close to him. She trusted the other boys too, but not to the same extent as David. Michael had not denied her accusation that he and Donna had been with each other more than once, which meant that David had told her the truth. Kali felt so alone then. Her parents were dead so she couldn't go back to them for comfort and rejuvenation; the two she had moved here with were no longer an option; she wasn't that close to her workmates which left the boys she had met last night. They were her only solace and her only friends. She hadn't really made that many friends in Santa Carla as she had always hung out with Michael and Donna. Kali tightened her grip around David's waist and leant her head on his back. Tears of self-pity filled her eyes, threatening to spill at any moment. She silently cursed the two that had spurned her. The feeling of abandonment was so overwhelming, that it helped the tears finally trickle down her cheeks.

"David, can you stop please?" she yelled at him over the noise of the engines.

"We're almost there. Just hang on," he yelled back.

"Stop the damn bike now!" she demanded.

Taken aback by her sudden change in demeanour, David pulled over, realising that something was very wrong. Before he had even fully stopped, Kali jumped off and ran ahead of them.

"Kali!" David called to her.

Kali didn't respond. About ten feet away, she stopped and hung her head, the tears now flowing freely, her whole body wracking with sobs. Paul, Dwayne and Marko looked over at David, wondering what he was going to do. It had been so long since he had seen a girl that he cared about cry, that he wasn't entirely sure how to go about consoling her.

Slowly, David got off his bike and walked over to her, putting one hand on her back. Kali felt his touch and turned around. He looked into her tear-stained face, almost feeling her pain. Kali threw her arms around his waist and cried harder into his chest. David put his arms around her and awkwardly stroked her ponytail, the gesture feeling very unnatural. Her body was so warm and her hair smelled wonderful. David closed his eyes, breathing in her sweet scent. She was so much like Angel…

"Come on David, hurry up!" Angel called, laughing. They were running on Santa Carla beach and she was way ahead of him. Angel turned back around and as she did, David increased his speed and caught up to her, tackling her to the ground. They were both in a fit of laughter and out of breath from running. Angel jumped up and ran into the water, throwing large handfuls of it at David as he approached. This started an all out water fight with the both of them ending up falling into the ocean totally clothed. Neither of them cared though. Once they had dried off, they sat on the hill and watched the sunrise, heads close together, curled in each other's arms.

"I love you, you know," Angel said softly. David smiled and kissed her head.

"Yeah, me too…"

David blinked away a couple of tears. Just remembering her was still so painful. He tightened his grip around Kali, vowing silently to himself not to let anything happen to her. Something told him that she had crossed his path for a reason and he was going to do his utmost to protect her. He didn't really know what to say to her though. Luckily he didn't have to say anything, as Kali spoke first.

"I'm sorry, I just feel really alone and lost right now. It's like everyone in the world is against me and I don't know why!"

"Not everyone," David replied quietly.

Kali withdrew from him slightly and looked up. "You're the only one I trust David. You've been totally honest from the beginning and have never lied to me, even about things that I thought couldn't be true…Thankyou."

"I really hate them you know. I've never hated anyone in my life, but I hate them. I hope they get what's coming to them," she said bitterly. Kali hugged him again.

David uttered a small laugh. "Kali, where did you learn how to pin a guy to the ground like that?"

She looked up at him again, a small smile on her face. "I'm a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Michael had obviously forgotten that."

"That was amazing. I mean, no offense, but to watch a girl put a guy down like that. It was pretty awesome."

"Well, it's a lot of hard work. I go jogging a few times a week and do some kickboxing and stuff to keep my strength up."

"I'll just have to make sure I don't piss you off then huh?"

She gave him a half smile. "Look, I'm so tired David, I think I might just go home," Kali whispered.

David shook his head. "I'm not going to let you do that. I don't want him anywhere near you."

"But I have nowhere else to go!" she cried miserably.

"Stay with us. You know we'll protect you."

That was true, Kali thought. After little debate, she nodded in agreement.

When they finally arrived at the cave, Kali looked around in awe. "What is this place?"

"This was the hottest resort in Santa Carla about eighty years ago. But, they built it along

the San Andreas fault. In 1906, when the big one hit San Francisco, the ground opened up and

this place took a header into the crack. And now it's ours."

Kali couldn't believe it. It still had the reception desk standing intact, which the boys used as a playground. A ghetto blaster, bottles of beer and cartons of food littered the top. The lighting was fairly dim, the source being big drums that Dwayne lit with a large stick of fire. It was quite chilly and the sudden temperature change made her shiver. David showed her to the bed where she would sleep. Dwayne, Marko and Paul gave each other a "look" then. No one had slept on that bed since Angel. They knew at that point, whether he admitted it or not, David was starting to fall for Kali. David and the boys left her and went back out into the night. Kali closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.

An hour later, she was still awake. Her body was exhausted and her eyes were tired and sore from crying, yet her mind was still reeling from the night's torment and refused to rest. Not able to lie still any longer, Kali got up and headed out of the cave. She wondered when the boys would be back. Kali walked mindlessly along the top of the bluff to the farthest point, slumping her body over the railing. Why can't all this pain just go away, she thought angrily? She felt so empty inside, a huge void within her that Michael and Donna had left behind. What was the point? She couldn't even go back to her parents for solace. Tears began falling from her eyes for the second time that night. Kali looked down at the thunderous waves below her, making her head spin. Almost in a trance-like state, she hoisted herself over the railing, facing the full moon that still dominated the night sky. Her breathing was now rapid and shallow. The waves below taunted her, trying to will her to let go, but her hands were not on the same wavelength as her mind.

"Kali, what're you doing?" came the quiet sound of a familiar voice.

Kali closed her eyes, angry she had been caught. "Please David, just let me be," she replied hoarsely.

"No, I'm not gonna let you do this." David slowly moved toward her. "Please turn around. Give me your hand…it's alright." Kali hesitated for a moment, however she decided to at least give him the courtesy of saying goodbye to his face. As David reached her, she slowly turned around, tightly gripping the railing for support and meeting his worried face.

"There. That wasn't so hard." He gave her a half smile. "Give me your hand Kali."

No response. David tried again. "Come on, its OK, just give me your hand." He looked at her and realised that her mind was only half aware of what it was doing. She had a vague, distant look in her eyes, almost looking right through him.

Kali swallowed hard. "I don't want this anymore David. I don't want this life. I don't want this pain. I just want to be free of it all," she whimpered miserably.

"Kali, I can take the pain away. I promise, I can make it all go away if you want me to."

She gave him a half smile, doubting his claim. "Don't make promises you can't keep David."

His eyes begged her silently. Kali looked at him for a few moments, smiled and let go, hurtling backwards towards the crashing waves below. The only sound was David's bloodcurdling scream.


	8. Am I Dead?

Kali opened her eyes, slowly trying to blink her surroundings into focus. Where was she? Was she dead? She looked around her, realising she was back in David's cave. How could that be? She had felt herself fall! Kali rolled over and came face to face with David, sitting by her bedside. As she did, she emitted a cry of pain, an intense discomfort ripping through her neck.

"Hey easy! Try not to move too suddenly."

Kali tried to focus on him, but everything had a white haze over it, which made it hard for her to see anything properly. "What happened?" she asked weakly.

David patted her hand. "Shh, just rest. It's going to be OK." Kali didn't have the energy to answer him. The pain was unbearable. She closed her eyes, and let herself succumb to unconsciousness.

"So have you told her yet?" Marko asked David later that night.

"Not yet. When she gets her strength back, I'll tell her."

"How do you think she'll take it?" Marko went on.

"No idea man. I mean, she's understanding and all, but something as big as this, I just don't know how she'll take it."

It was the next evening when Kali woke again. The pain in her neck had subsided slightly, and her vision had returned to full strength. She felt a lot better and didn't feel so melancholy. The cave was quiet, which meant the boys had gone out. She thought she would try her luck and see if she was able to get up. Slowly, she propped herself up on her elbows. This hurt, but it wasn't too bad if she kept her neck still. Kali persevered, managing to stand up without too much pain. Wrapped in a swathe of blankets for warmth, she wandered around the cave, critiquing their décor and generally being nosy. In the far corner, she noticed something shiny sitting on a rock-ledge shelf. Kali made her way over to it, intrigued. It was a bottle intricately covered in beautiful coloured stones and gilt. She picked the bottle up, pulled out the cork and sniffed it, noting it had some sort of red wine in it. It had an odd smell, but not being one for red wine, she couldn't tell what type it was. Kali ran her fingers over the stones, realising they were actually real crystals; amethysts, jade, garnets and other little stones. Whoever had decorated the bottle had gone to a lot of trouble and had done a beautiful job. As Kali put the bottle down, she heard the boys re-enter the cave, laughing and carrying on as usual.

"Aah, it walks!" Marko remarked cheekily.

Kali smiled at him. "Yeah, barely though."

"And what are you doing up?" David said in a mock-stern voice.

"Actually, I was admiring this bottle of yours. It's beautifully decorated. Which one of you did it?"

Kali noticed David's body stiffen slightly. Another one of those "looks", like the one she had seen the night she met the boys, was passed between them. Kali _again_ wondered what that 'look' meant. David looked at her with pained eyes.

"It was one of Angel's creations," he said quietly.

Kali noticed the other three head for the lower part of the cave. OK, this was definitely getting a little weird, she thought.

"Who's Angel?"

David hesitated for a few moments before continuing. "Angel was my girlfriend. She was killed six months ago by the leader of a rival gang."

Kali was stunned.

"The gang tried to invade our territory, which resulted in a fight between their gang and ours. We were winning, which pissed off Randall, the other gang leader, so just to spite me, he grabbed Angel and killed her right in front of me."

Kali's eyes welled with tears. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry David."

They stood in awkward silence for a few moments, Kali not quiet knowing what else to say.

David decided to change the subject. "Anyway, how are you doing? You're obviously feeling better."

The reality of what had happened last night came flooding back to her. "Yeah I suppose. Everything just overwhelmed me and I guess just lost it. I've never felt like that before, so out of control. I have to say, it was quite scary." Kali eyed David curiously. "There's something that's been bothering me though. How is it possible that I _am_ here? I mean, I let go and I felt myself fall."

"I caught you."

Kali eyed him suspiciously.

"I grabbed you before you fell."

He couldn't have. She had definitely felt herself fall. There was something he wasn't telling her. She walked right up to him and looked him directly in the eye. "What are you hiding from me David?"

He smirked that famous smirk of his and raised an eyebrow at her. She knew then that he _was _hiding something. Kali narrowed her eyes at him, shook her head and, in spite of herself, smiled. That smirk had annoyed her when she had first met him. She realised that it was just his way as he often smirked in response to a question that he didn't particularly want to answer. He was a real enigma and she knew that there was more to him than he let on which, much like she had done for him, intrigued her. They stared at each other for a few moments, then without quite knowing why, Kali found herself leaning forward and placing her lips gently on his. At first, he didn't respond, taken aback by her bold action, but soon relaxed and kissed her back. After a few moments, Kali pulled away, slightly embarrassed.

"Um…I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from."

David looked at her, a slight sadness in his eyes. "It's been so long since anyone's kissed me like that."

Kali smiled, her cheeks flushing a bright scarlet. He tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, and then let his finger trace the outline of her jaw. David leant down and kissed her, freely and unabashedly. He cupped her face in his hands, a wild hunger possessing him. He wanted to taste every inch of her. She flinched at his cool touch on her bare skin, although her lips did not leave his. David removed the blankets from her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer to him. Her sensuality was driving him wild and he was finding it hard to deal with the unfamiliarity of his feelings. He slowly kissed his way down her soft, creamy alabaster neck, almost feeling like he could taste her. Kali groaned softly as he kissed her, every part of her body electrified. She couldn't believe what she was doing. It was so soon after Michael, but David fuelled a fire within her that she had never experienced. She couldn't stop herself nor did she want to.

She pushed his large coat off his shoulders, letting it fall in a heap behind him. One by one, she undid the buttons and let his shirt join the coat on the floor. Kali placed a single kiss on his chest and let her fingers caress his sinewy torso, which she noticed was almost an albino white. David mirrored her actions, running his hands along the small of her back and under her T-shirt. Kali slowly walked him backwards toward the bed, pushing him onto it and straddled him. She removed her t-shirt, revealing bare breasts, then reached behind her and pulled out her ponytail, letting her long raven hair fall loosely around her shoulders.

David looked longingly at her. He had never seen her with her hair out. With all that flowing hair, she looked like an absolute goddess. So sexy!

She leant down again and kissed him lightly, teasing him by drawing away whenever he tried to kiss her back. He grabbed her face and thrust his mouth on hers, not able to take the torture any longer. Kali smiled as she kissed him, satisfied at what she had driven him to. The pain shooting through her neck was agonising, although she fought it, not wanting to stop. She kissed her way down his neck and onto his shoulders, across his collarbone and up the other side of his neck, nipping his flesh lightly as she went. David's body writhed in ecstasy. He rolled her over so that he was on top and returned the favour. Another pain shot through her neck, making her cry out slightly. Kali's head spun as he kissed his way down her naked body.

As two became one, Kali felt a coldness sweep through her entire body. The sensation made her shiver, which only added to the eroticism of the moment. Their bodies rocked slowly in time with each other, both looking directly into the other's eyes as they moved. Kali could feel the heat rising within her, her excitement intensifying the longer she stared into David's eyes. As they climaxed, a piercing scream released itself from Kali, echoing throughout the cave. She wondered if the other three would hear her.


	9. You Lied to me!

As David's body relaxed, so too did hers. David laid his head on her chest exhausted and breathing deeply. Kali ran her fingers through his hair soothingly, trying to make sense of what had just happened. After a few moments, she rolled out from under him and sat on the edge of the bed, trying to compose herself. As she put her hand to her head, she noticed it was shaking. David sat up.

"Everything alright?"

Kali nodded, although it was not what she felt. She moved to lie back beside David. They lay there for a while, lost in their own respective thoughts. Kali looked over at him tenderly.

"Hey, you know what'd be really nice? If you and I went up and watched the sunrise. It'll be in about an hour."

A slight panic crossed David's face then. "Um…no offense, but it's not really my thing."

Kali's face fell. "Aww, come on, it'll be fun. We can grab some breakfast and sit on the bluff."

"Yeah, well I'm not really in the mood," he retorted irritably. Kali was a little confused as to his sudden change in demeanour.

"Haven't you ever watched the sunrise before?"

"A long time ago. Look, can you drop it? I don't want to watch the fucking sunrise OK?"

"OK, OK. I'm sorry. It was just a suggestion!" Kali got up then and began to put her clothes back on, her ego slightly bruised. She looked over at him sadly.

"I just thought it'd be really nice, that's all," she said quietly.

David breathed out deeply and patted the space next to him on the bed, wondering how he was going to tell her. Kali obliged and sat down beside him.

"There's something I need to tell you … about me and the boys. I haven't been totally honest with you."

Kali nodded knowingly.

"We're … you could say … different from most people. Our lifestyle is quite unusual and the only friends or family we have are each other. "

"Uh huh …"

"What I'm trying to say, Kali is … Marko, Dwayne, Paul and I are … we're um …"

Kali put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's OK. You can tell me." She was seeing a very different David to the one that she usually saw. This David seemed quieter and unsure of himself. Not the usual brazen, bold guy that rode around terrorising the residents and tourists of Santa Carla.

"We're … vampires, Kali."

Kali inadvertently snorted, looking at David in disbelief.

"What? I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh … but vampires? Come on, you're kidding right?" Kali's smiled faded when she realised David wasn't laughing. Surely he wasn't serious! She looked directly at him, his expression unchanging. Kali swallowed hard. "Holy shit. You're not joking … are you?"

David shook his head slightly. All the strange happenings over the past couple of nights now made sense: the late jaunts without her, only hanging out at night, his fear of the sun, his albino skin and almost black eyes. It all made perfect, twisted sense.

Kali turned her back on him, tears welling in her eyes. She jumped up from the bed, backing away from him.

"Is that what you really wanted then? To win my trust, seduce me and then kill me?"

"Kali, I don't want to kill you. I don't want to harm you in any way. I promise you."

"How can I believe that? You lied to me!" she protested.

David shook his head. "I haven't lied to you. I may not have told you the full truth, but I have never lied to you. I kept it from you because I wasn't sure you were ready to deal with it. I had planned on telling you once you'd recovered from last night's ordeal."

A realisation struck her then. "So you did catch me, didn't you."

David nodded slowly. "Yes."

This was all too much to take. Kali looked hard at David then. "OK. I want an honest answer now. No games. No elusion. What did you really want from me? I mean, from the very beginning? Why me?"

David looked at her earnest expression. He knew he had to tell her. She had a right to know.

"Alright. Honestly, the first time I saw you, I wanted you purely for my survival. Your beauty attracted me and I hungrily wanted what you had to offer. But, something stopped me. As I watched you, over time, I became infatuated with you, watching you most nights when you were working. I found out your name, where you lived and details about your lifestyle. You had the same energy and almost identical appearance as Angel, and I guess selfishly, I wanted back what I'd lost, which is why I really wanted to meet you. I couldn't destroy someone that resembled another that I once loved. For a vampire, that is peculiar behaviour. We generally don't feel emotions like that. I still wonder why I felt it." He stood up then, and started pacing.

"Anyway, one night, I saw you watching us, so I followed you home, which was the night we met on the boardwalk. I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to meet you in person. I won't lie though, there'd be times when I would have to fight my instinct quite hard, especially tonight." He took her warm hand in his cold one.

"Kali, you have stirred feelings within me that I haven't felt in a long time, and in some ways, have never felt. I know you felt it too and I know what you felt was real."

Kali closed her eyes. A solitary tear fell slowly down her cheek. It wasn't fair. Why did it have to be so complicated? "David, I can't tell you why, but I feel strongly for you too. It's strange because I barely know you, but I just feel like I've known you for so much longer." She moved over to him then, standing in front of him and took his hand.

"At the same time, I can't keep seeing you like this. I mean, no offense, but how do I know you won't just lose control one day and kill me?"

He looked hard at her for a moment. She had him there. Although…no he couldn't do that, could he? David looked at her, an almost desperate little boy staring back at her.

"There is a way. The thing is … it's irreversible."

"What is?"

"Becoming immortal."

Kali looked up at him, startled by this revelation. "What? Become a vampire?" Kali shook her head vigorously. "I can't kill people for the sport of it!"

"That's because you're thinking like a mortal. We don't have that feeling or attachment. Mortals are food to us, like cows and chickens are food to you."

"It's not the same thing."

"Why not?"

"Well, because … everyone eats cows and chickens. They're animals."

"We don't."

"Yeah, but you're the minority."

"That may be true, but how is it any different? Food can be classified as anything that a particular species eats for survival."

Kali opened her mouth to give him an answer, but realised she didn't have one to give. He had a point. It just wasn't something she could imagine.

"So, how do youbecome a vampire?"

"Well, there's two ways. You can either drink the blood of another vampire or another vampire can bite you and exchange their blood with yours."

"Ho … how did _you_ become one?"

"I was bitten. To be honest, I don't remember it though. But that only means you'll be a hybrid."

"A hybrid?"

"Part vampire, part mortal. You don't become a whole vampire until … until you've made your first kill."

Kali went quiet.

"If you don't feed, you'll become weak and eventually die."

Kali screwed her face up at him. "Look, this is too much. I gotta get some air. I'm gonna go and sit up top for a while."

He nodded. "Yeah, well I need to sleep. I'm really tired. The sun will be up soon."

Kali understood. David twiddled a bit of her hair, then leant down and kissed her softly.

"I'll see you later." He turned to head toward the lower part of the cave.

"David?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you like being a vampire?"

The smirk. "Sleep all day. Party all night. You never grow old and you never die. But for this, you must feed," and with that, turned back and headed down into the cave. Sometimes his cryptic responses really exasperated her! Why couldn't he just give her a straight answer?


	10. Moment of Truth

Kali climbed out of the cave to see the beginnings of the sunrise. She made herself comfortable, deciding to sit and watch it. Her mind was in an absolute spin. She really liked David, yet she wasn't sure whether she wanted to sacrifice everything to become immortal, just to be with him. Having to kill innocents in order to survive? Was it worth it? On the other hand, could she live without David now? What did she have to go back to? Michael? Donna? Her parents? There was no one to turn to. David and the boys were her only friends. Was she prepared to give up her mortal life to keep their friendship?

The beautiful orange glow of the rising sun made her cry then. This splendour of nature, which she often took for granted, would no longer be a pastime she would be able to revere if she were to become immortal.

Kali watched the sun until it was a fair way off the horizon. She knew she needed sleep too as her eyes were growing heavier by the second. Shaking the grass off, she wandered back into the cave. Now she understood why David and the boys slept lower in the cave. Even though sunlight didn't actually reach inside, this part of it was still quite warm. As it _was_ quite balmy, Kali stripped and flopped onto the bed, which was a mess of sheets from the antics of a couple of hours ago. Within minutes of her head hitting the pillow, she was fast asleep.

The moonlight shone brightly into Kali's room, a tranquil breeze caressing her naked body. She stirred awake and looked out of her open double French doors, a force beckoning her outside. She rose slowly and wrapped a light sheet around her, her onyx hair flowing gently in the breeze. Kali walked out onto her balcony to see him leaning casually against it, his fiery gaze following her every move. She walked over to him in a way that someone who was under a spell may walk, her eyes fixed to his. Her skin tingled in anticipation. He leant down and kissed her passionately and as she reached up to put her arms around his neck, the sheet that was wrapped around her fell to the ground in an eloquent flutter. They made love on the balcony, not caring who or what saw them. Afterwards, she stood in his embrace, he stroking her hair, she nuzzling his neck. His hand moved to stroke her cheek. She lifted her head to face him, a smile of tenderness crossing her angelic features. He looked back at her like a predator about to attack its prey. His face was now distorted, demonic features possessing it and eyes glowing a sulphuric yellow. All the while, he still stroked her cheek.

"_I'm sorry Kali, but I'm going to have to kill you now," he stated matter of factly. Her eyes grew large as she tried to comprehend his statement. He brushed her hair lightly away from her neck, took her in his arms and sank his teeth in._

Kali woke suddenly with a scream, furiously slapping away the hand that stroked her cheek and sat up, her breathing hard. She blinked furiously, trying to erase all memory of what had just happened. As her mind came back to reality, she noticed four pairs of amused eyes looking at her, one with a smirk on its face. What was so damn funny? Kali looked down, following Dwayne's gaze and realised she was totally naked and the sheets that had once covered her, were now wrapped around her ankles. She lunged for them and covered herself, casting her eyes downward and feeling her face heat up. The boys protested at this, especially the sex-crazed Paul.

"Enough!" David barked at them and signalled for them to wait up top for him. Paul and Marko turned away, sniggering at each other like little schoolboys. Dwayne lingered a little longer, catching her gaze and giving her one of his sultry smiles. Kali looked away embarrassed.

"You alright?" David asked protectively, sitting down beside her. Kali wrapped the sheet tighter around her and hugged her chilled body.

"Yeah, just a bad dream," and stared pointedly at him.

"David, I … " and stopped. David looked at her expectantly.

"I … I want to do it. I want to go through with it."

Realising what she meant, he smiled impishly at her.

"I really don't have anything left in my mortal life that I wouldn't be happy to give up. Knowing what you are … I'm curious. It shocked me at first, but in a weird way, it seems kind of exciting. I just don't want to hurt anymore. I'm sick of hurting and I'm sick of pain. I just want to have fun. If doing this will take it all away, then hey, why not? I don't owe anyone anything!"

David looked at her in amazement. He could see it in her face that it was a hard decision for her to make and he honestly didn't think she was going to go through with it. He ran his fingers through her hair, brushing away loose strands from her face.

"You sure?"

Kali nodded slowly. David jumped up and brought the gilted bottle over, popping the lid and taking a swig for himself. So _that's _what was in the bottle. Good thing she didn't like red wine!

Ceremoniously, he handed the bottle to Kali, who gingerly took it. Her breathing started to become erratic, her nerves gearing her mind for what it was about to do. As she held the bottle to her lips, thoughts of her life and the people in it flashed before her. Michael. Donna. Her parents. Her childhood. Arielle and Karli. Callie Matheson. Kali began to tremble. Did she _really_ want to do this? A single tear fell as she closed her eyes, tilted the bottle toward her and drank. It had an odd taste to it, yet the more she drank, the more she wanted. Deciding she'd had enough, she handed the bottle back to David. Kali could feel the transformation consuming her body. Her breathing was starting to become hard and fast and she could hear her heart beating wildly in her ears. Her stomach felt as though it were revolting against her and clenched unforgivingly. She felt as though she were dying. Her vision blurred momentarily and she thought she could vaguely hear David calling her name. Eventually her breathing began to regulate, her head stopped spinning and her vision returned. Kali raised her head slowly and looked at David. She blinked furiously and her eyes darted around, trying to make sense of what was happening to her.

"Kali? You still with me?"

She looked at him suddenly, as though she had just noticed his presence. "Y … yeah. I'm OK. I'm OK. I've … I've got this strange squirming in my stomach and my whole body is tense, like I need to scream or something."

David grinned and put his arm around her. "You're body's changing now. You'll need to feed fairly soon. The longer you resist, the weaker you will become. "

"So … I'm half now right?"

He nodded silently at her. Kali chewed her fingernail. There was no turning back.

Outside the cave, the boys were starting to get restless.

"I bet they're going for it down there, while we're up here starving! Hey, wanna go watch?" Paul said, grinning mischievously at the other two.

"You're one sick puppy. I swear you need to get laid Paul! That's just gross," Marko laughed.

"I'm going down to check it out," Dwayne announced. He ignored the other two's protests that it wasn't a good idea. Ever since he had laid eyes on her, Dwayne had wanted Kali. He knew it would never happen though. If David had chosen her, then she was his. She was just so beautiful, and if he couldn't have her, he would be the best friend to her he could be. It often frustrated him that David got first pick. She was so different to all the others. He shook those thoughts out of his head. There was nothing he could do.

As he entered the cave, he could hear no noise, honestly wondering what was taking them so long, seeing as it wasn't the obvious. He noticed that David had his arm around Kali, who was still looking a little out of sorts.

Kali noticed Dwayne and looked up. David craned his neck around to see what she was looking at.

"Everything cool?" Dwayne asked neither one of them in particular.

"Fine man. Say hello to the newest member of our family," David said proudly.

Kali looked up at Dwayne, smiling coyly.

"You mean … ?"

David smirked and nodded. Dwayne looked back at her and nodded his approval, wanting her more than ever.

"We ride Dwayne," David exclaimed happily and headed out of the cave.

Dwayne looked over at Kali, a small smile playing on his lips. "So you made the choice."

Kali looked up at him and was met with an intense pair of dark brown eyes. She loved his quiet, brooding demeanour, what one might call the quiet achiever. The way he looked at her … very sexy … wait a second! What was she doing? She was with David and now she was thinking about Dwayne. Shaking the thought from her mind, she answered him.

"Yeah well, nothing left for me in mortality. Let's see what immortality has to offer," and gave him a small grin.

He returned the small grin, which was something she hadn't seen very often from him. He barely said two words, but something about him told her there was more to him than what he didn't say. Kali moved to get her clothes to get dressed. Dwayne didn't move.

"I uh, guess I'll meet you up top, unless of course you want to watch me get dressed," she teased. She could tell from his face that he seemed embarrassed by her bold statement, although he didn't stumble over apologies to tell her 'No thank you'.

"See you up top," and he turned to go, but not before looking slyly at her as though he were contemplating her 'offer'.

Grabbing her clothes, Kali quickly put them on, trying to warm herself up, then headed out of the cave to find the others. Kali wandered over to David who, with cigarette in hand, was sitting on his bike waiting for her. Climbing onto the back of his bike, she decided she should go home and at least get her personal stuff. "David, I need to go ho … I mean, back to my place to get some things I want to take. Also my bike. He can have everything else. I don't want it …"

Kali watched a smile cross David's face then.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"You have to make your first kill soon right…?"

Kali nodded. David looked at her, waiting for the penny to drop, which it finally did. A smile slowly spread across Kali's face, matching David's.

"Perfect," she grinned, running her tongue along her teeth. She could already feel the hunger consuming her. Yes, this would be just perfect.

"Boys, Kali and I have something to take care of. Meet you back on the boardwalk in an hour."

The boys nodded just as David and Kali took off. As the landscape sped by, Kali tried to clear her head about what had just happened. Moments ago, she was mortal. Now she was half a vampire. Half a killer. She smiled at this, thinking her new life would have a lot more to offer than her old one. Kali had surprised herself though at how quickly she'd slept with David. It wasn't the usual thing for her, but something had stirred inside her where she didn't care anymore. The attraction with Dwayne unsettled her though. It was quite obvious and they both knew it, but David had her first and now knowing why he wanted her, Kali didn't feel it would be fair, no matter how much she felt …Dwayne had felt it too. No, it's impossible, she scolded herself.

Slowing down, they had finally reached her house.


	11. Kali becomes a Lost Boy

Kali looked up at the house with contempt. Hard to believe she'd only been here a short while and now she was moving again. Though this move was going to be a little more permanent, she thought, smiling to herself.

Climbing off the back of David's bike, Kali stood in front of him. "Michael's mine. But feel free to play with Donna," she said and grinned at him.

"I'll let you go on ahead first. I'll follow shortly," and kissed her gently, stroking her face. "You're going to make a great vamp, Kali."

She smiled and headed slowly up the path and to the front door. She still had the key, so let herself in quietly. No doubt the two were asleep, considering it was almost 3am. Walking quietly down the hall, Kali gently opened the door to Michael's room, and was surprised to find him sleeping alone. Kali bit her lip in anticipation. This would make things _much_ easier.

Crawling onto the bed, she moved behind him on her hands and knees. "Wake up, sweet pea," she whispered in his ear and nibbled at it softly.

Michael stirred and rolled over, surprised at the face he saw. "Kali?"

"Hello Michael."

"Wh … what are you doing here?" he whispered as he reached his hand up to run through her hair.

"I miss you. I … I want to come back …"

Michael could barely believe his ears. Rolling fully onto his back, he cupped her face in his hands and pulled her to him, kissing her roughly.

Kali kissed him back, and lay on top of him, grinding her body into his.

Michael moaned softly. "It's so good to see you," he whispered and ran his hands along her body.

Funny how he was thinking how good it was to feel her against him. All she could think about, all she could hear, was the blood rushing through his veins. Kali's breathing became more erratic as she kissed her way along his jaw and down to his neck, the pulse point beckoning to her. Her fangs dropped and she grazed them lightly along Michael's neck, savouring the moment. Pulling away, she moved back enough so Michael could see her face, the moonlight shining against her fangs.

Michael opened his eyes and looked up at her sleepily, his eyes widening when he saw a different face looking back at him. "What the hell? Kali?" he asked, confused and scared.

"You arrogant ass," she hissed. "As if I would take you back after what you did. You disgust me!"

"You're a … a …"

"Vampire?" Kali said, a low laugh escaping her. She moved her face inches from his, her eyes boring into his. "Feel privileged. You get to be my first," she said, giving him an evil smile and kissing his lips.

Michael turned his head, not wanting to be near her and struggled to move out from under her, but she was too strong. "Kali, please …"

Just then, a piercing scream ripped through the house. Kali's eyes darted to the door, then back to Michael as she bit her lip and grinned at him. "Awwww … David must've gotten hungry."

Michael's heart sank. "Donna!" he called out, trying to sit up.

Kali shoved him back down, hard, and sneered. "You're next, sweet pea," and kissed her way down along his neck.

Michael whimpered quietly, knowing there was no way out.

Kali licked gently at his neck, the sweet blood beneath desperately calling to her. Sinking her fangs into Michael's neck, she drank indulgently, her eyes rolling slightly at the intensity. The taste of revenge was sweet.

Michael let out a stifled scream, feeling her fangs pierce his skin. His hand automatically went to the back of her head, trying to ease the pain, though there was no stopping her. "Kali …" he whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks as he felt the life being drained from him.

When there was no more, Kali pulled back and licked her fangs and lips, relishing his taste. That had felt amazing. Her breathing slowed and her fangs retracted as she looked down at Michael. Kali climbed off him and smirked down at his lifeless body. "Guess you won't be cheating on _me_ again," and with that, grabbed the few things she wanted and threw them into a bag, heading outside to meet up with David. She wheeled her bike out of the garage and walked it beside his.

David smiled, a smug, satisfied smile. "You did good, girl," and kissed her deeply. "You're one of us now Kali."


	12. Initiation

Kali grinned, satisfied with herself and pleased David was pleased with her. "It … felt good," she said, smiling slightly. Michael's blood still rushed through her veins, sending warm currents of satiety through her.

David started his bike and grinned at her. "Boardwalk. Let's go," and sped off.

Kali took one last look at her old house. Her old life. A slow smile spread across her face. That Kali didn't exist anymore. She felt stronger now. And she had rid herself of the scum that had made her unhappy. Starting up her bike, she sped off after David.

Feeling a new sense of freedom, Kali was a little more reckless with her driving, dodging in and out of people like she'd seen the boys do. Wow, this vampire stuff was awesome. Her balance and precision had pinpoint accuracy. All her senses were reeling. Her eyes saw more. Her ears heard more. She could hear the laughter of people miles away. A smile spread over Kali's face. This definitely had its benefits.

Pulling up next to David, Kali killed the engine and got off her bike. Looking down at her t-shirt and black jeans, she felt a little boring. New life meant new clothing to go with it.

"David, I'm just going to pop into one of the stores. Wanna get a couple of things. I'll only be a few minutes," and ran off towards the boardwalk shops.

David nodded and watched her go, somewhat amused. He knew what she was doing but didn't bring attention to it. It wasn't necessary. Paul, Marko & Dwayne showed up then, smug grins on their faces.

"So, where's our newest recruit?" Paul asked.

"Shopping," David said simply. "She won't be long."

Kali stopped briefly outside The Enchanted Forest, though changed her mind when she decided that wasn't the look she wanted anymore. The new Kali was going to be even stronger than she had before, literally, so she needed something to reflect that. Heading into a store called Black Odyssey, Kali's face lit up. Awesome. She flicked through racks of clothing of all colours and materials, trying to find what she wanted. Eventually she decided on a pair of black leather pants, cropped black leather corset that showed off her toned torso and gave great cleavage which would perfect for hunting, a spiked collar and black PVC spiked boots. She changed and turned to face the mirror, then sighed, remembering she wouldn't have a reflection.

"Well that sucks," she muttered out loud, snickering at her pun. Pulling her hair back into a smooth ponytail, Kali exited the dressing room, paid for her purchases and headed back to the boys. She was met with whistles and whoops, popping eyes and panting tongues.

"Mortal or immortal, you men are all the same," she joked. Kali knew she looked good and if she was honest with herself, loved the attention. David walked over to her and gave her the once over, slowly.

"You're gonna make it so easy for us," he grinned, and kissed her gently.

Paul and Marko laughed as they checked out Kali's new getup. "Very nice, girl," Paul said with a grin, a little bit more leering than she would've liked.

Kali grabbed his chin playfully. "Keep it in your pants, eh Paul? I know it's not easy for you."

Paul howled in response. Dwayne watched her quietly, admiring and really liking what he saw. When Kali looked in his direction, he gave her a small nod of recognition. Kali knew that meant more than words from him.

"Shall we go and find something to eat?" David said, eyeing his pack. "I'm sure Kali here can find us a treat hmmm?"

Kali grinned at David and the boys and put her hands on her hips. "I'm sure I can work out something.

"OK, we'll follow closely behind. Oh before you go, something you'll find useful. If you concentrate hard enough, you can mentally message any one of us. Once you get used to it, you won't need to concentrate so hard anymore."

"Mentally message each other? Cool!" Kali said, her eyes lighting up. "Now there's a useful tool," and with that Kali headed off onto the beach.

In the distance, Kali could see a fire drum already burning. Kali sped up and rode straight past them, flicking sand as she went and turned over her shoulder to gauge their reactions. Initially, it looked as though they were a bit pissed, but most looking after her to see who had just covered them in sand. Kali spun her bike around, sending a wave of sand behind her, then rode back to the group a little slower. Antics always got attention.

Cruising up to the group, she turned on her best seductive smile.

"Looks like you boys are having a party. Mind if I join you?" They all shook their heads vigorously, each hoping the girl would choose them to sit next to. Kali smiled, and dismounted her bike, putting the kickstand down. She had left it far enough away from the group, but close enough not to lose their interest. Choosing not to sit down next to them, after all she didn't want to be in the middle of the group when the other three attacked, Kali leant against her bike, hoping one or two of the boys would come to her instead. She locked eyes with one of the boys who, Kali guessed, was their leader. He had to be. He had a look about him. Casting her eyes down a little, Kali gestured him over to her with one finger. The boy got up, along with another one, who was obviously the "right hand man" and followed the leader everywhere.

"Well aren't I a lucky girl. Not one, but two?" Kali purred. The boys grinned at her, eyeing her up and down, anticipating a fuck for the night. The leader ran his hands along her body, liking what he saw, before planting his mouth down on hers. Wow, he wasn't wasting any time. This is what Kali knew she'd grow to love best about being a vamp. The entrapment. The set up. Giving her prey a false sense of security. She returned the kiss with zeal, loving how this boy was succumbing to her so easily. The other now had his hands on her hips and was starting to kiss her neck. The remaining two boys watched the action closely, egging the other two on, not knowing what fate was awaiting them.

Kali sent a message to David, telling him that the situation was under control and to attack when ready.

David and the boys weren't too far away, watching Kali work her stuff. David smiled to himself, watching at how naturally it all came to her.

Dwayne hung back with David, waiting for his leader to make the move. It would be an easy trick though, to take out this small band of punkers. Mortals were so simple, it was almost a crime to take advantage of their stupidity this way, but Kali was so good at playing the bait, it seemed, and as David had said, would prove very useful in their hunting strategies. What she did was art. Art that mesmerised him, his eyes not able to leave her.

Nodding his head toward Dwayne, David took off toward the fire where he saw the other

men standing around, watching their leader man handle Kali. A smug grin crossed his face. They were in for a treat. Paul and Marko followed behind David and Dwayne, licking their lips hungrily.

Kali pulled away from the boy, knowing David and the others would be joining her any minute. "Not bad," she told him, letting him know what she thought of his kissing style.

The boy eyed her with a leer. "That's not all I've got," and grabbed at her breasts hard through her corset.

Kali had to hold in a laugh. Goddamn, talk about brut!

David and the others showed up then, fangs at the ready, the four circling the group like a pack of wolves. "Mind if we join as well," his long fangs shining.

The boy turned around to see who had joined them, seeing the four sets of fangs glistening at him. He had to get out of here and take this girl with him. He turned back to Kali and opened his mouth to speak, tell her that they would have to run but Kali had other ideas, her fangs out, they too glistening at him. The brief moment in which the boy realised what was happening, Kali was upon him, tearing him to shreds. Stupid shit. For all the girls like me that you chatted up, drugged, raped or all of the above, Kali thought, laughing to herself. Once finished, she dropped him to the ground like the worthless piece of shit that he was.

David went for the second guy that was putting his hands all over Kali - he would leave the leader for her seeing as she had her claws in him already. Dwayne and Marko ripped into two of the others, their screams echoing down the beach, though lost on sound of the waves crashing into shore. After the five had had their fill of a man each, they turned to the last man still standing.

Kali licked her lips and the last of the boy's blood from them. Considering what scum he was, he actually tasted quite good. Turning to David, she smiled devilishly, proud of herself and the meal she had trapped for her pack. Now there was one left, his eyes telling her all she needed to know. He knew he was going to die. Kali and the others circled him, watching David, waiting for his signal. Kali looked to Dwayne, then Paul and Marko and smiled, then locked eyes with the boy, his eyes almost pleading with her to let him go, but they both knew there was no chance of that.


	13. Encounter on the Boardwalk

With the last boy having fallen in a heap with the others, Kali and The Lost Boys licked the blood from their fangs contentedly.

"Talk about buffet! Nice one girl," David said, grinning at Kali, bringing her into a deep kiss, which she gladly returned.

Kali felt as though her body was on fire. The amount of warm blood rushing through her veins felt phenomenal. It was the most alive she had felt in months, which was rather funny considering she wasn't exactly 'alive'.

"Yeah, nice going Kali girl!" Paul agreed, putting his arm around her as she broke away from David.

"You're definitely an asset to this pack," Marko chipped in.

Dwayne glanced over at her with a smirk and a nod. Damn, she did it with such ease, he thought to himself, it was awesome.

Kali returned Dwayne's smirk with a grin, her gaze lingering a moment before turning back to David. "All in a night's work," she told them with a grin."

"Think that's enough excitement for one night," David said. "Back to the cave."

The five mounted their bikes, started them up and zoomed back to the cave, the usual sounds of whooping and yahooing as they clambered down into the cave, renewing the fire in the barrels. Paul headed straight for the bottle of JD sitting on the fountain and took a large gulp, then offered it to Kali. Kali took it gratefully and downed a large amount before handing it over to Dwayne.

After a while of winding down, Kali could feel sleep calling her. "I'm gonna head to bed guys," and moved to the canopy bed. Kali wasn't a fan of the pipe the boys hung from. She much preferred the bed. Wanting to be with her, David bidded the boys good night. Dwayne, Marko & Paul headed into the lower part of the cave to sleep for the night.

Turning to Kali, David stripped down and climbed into bed beside her already naked form.

"You really were awesome tonight," David whispered softly as he rolled onto her and kissed her neck.

"Guess it came more naturally than I thought," Kali said, finding his lips, kissing him deeply.

"Just watching you … the way you captured and kept their attention … all I could think about … besides feeding of course … was how much I wanted you …"

Kali smirked, biting her lip. "Enough talk … " she whispered, wrapping her legs around him, cupping his face in her hands and pushing her tongue roughly into his mouth. David growled and entered her quickly, kissing her hard. Kali moaned loudly, arching her body to meet his thrusts. It was over quickly, both already worked up from the night, collapsing in each other's arms, content.

Looking over at her, David smiled, stroking her cheek. "You're amazing …" he said softly. Kali looked back at him sleepily, a small smile on her face as she felt her eyes grow heavy. David kissed her head gently, soon both in a deep sleep.

A short while later, Kali woke with a start, disoriented. She relaxed when she realised where she was, David sleeping soundly beside her. Gently climbing out of bed, Kali pulled on her pair of leather pants and a black singlet, then her boots and headed out of the cave. It was still dark and would be for a while longer yet.

Taking flight, Kali landed on the beach, the quiet surround feeling somewhat eerie to her. Santa Carla was always abuzz with people, to see it deserted seemed strange. Kali made her way up the wooden stairs onto the boardwalk, none of the usual lights blazing or calliope music playing. It was actually quite peaceful. Moving to the railing, Kali leant forward against it, staring out at the ocean.

"Couldn't sleep either?" came a voice from behind.

Kali spun on her heel, not expecting anyone to have been around.

"Shit, Dwayne. You scared me."

Dwayne chuckled. "You? Surely not!"

"Well I wasn't exactly expecting anyone to be around here at this time."

"Neither was I. I sometimes have trouble sleeping. Just need to walk for a bit. What are you doing up anyway?"

"Same thing. Body's still adjusting." They looked at each other for a moment, not quite knowing what to say.

"So uh … wanna go for a walk or somethin'?" Dwayne asked.

Kali shrugged. "Sure," and headed off down the boardwalk slowly.

They walked in silence for a way, Dwayne eventually breaking the eerie quiet. "So … you seem to be settling in alright."

Kali nodded. "Yeah. I couldn't imagine living any other way now. I love who I am and what I've become. Mortality offered me nothing but pain."

Dwayne nodded in agreement as they headed down onto the beach. "I ran from home, both my parents physically fighting. It would've only been a matter of time before they started on me. My girlfriend was a mental case who wouldn't let me break up with her. She'd stalk me and follow me everywhere, not letting me talk to anyone or she'd fly into a rage. It was insane. I met David one night at a bar. We got talking and he was looking for people to join his gang. I thought 'Why not?', so I did. The blood thing didn't bother me much and the idea of becoming immortal was quite appealing. Like you've said, there was nothing left in mortality except pain, so why not? The rest, as they say, is history."

Kali bit her lip. "David … I guess in a sense saved me. I didn't want to be here anymore. When he told me he could take my pain away, I didn't believe him. I couldn't understand how someone could promise something like that. But he did … and I'll be forever grateful …" she finished quietly. "Anyway, enough of that depressing talk," Kali said, and, feeling a little mischievous, kicked some ocean water at Dwayne. Feeling the water hit him and his bare chest, Dwayne opened his mouth in surprise at Kali, though quickly recovered and hauled a large handful of water at her. Kali, naively having thought Dwayne wouldn't retaliate, hauled a handful back, starting an all out water fight, before Dwayne launched himself at her, sending them both flying into the surf. Kali hit the water with a scream, coming up spluttering for air.

"You ass!" she cried, shoving Dwayne playfully and tried to stand up. Dwayne grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back down, Kali letting out another scream of frustration, the end of it stifled as she went below the water. Kali surfaced again, this time sitting in the water for a moment. She was wet and there was no changing that so she may as well just sit there looking pathetic.

"You happy now?" she said gruffly, though she wasn't really angry. Dwayne stifled a laugh as he offered her his hand to help her up.

"Oh yeah, sure. I aint THAT dumb!" and continued to sit in the water. Dwayne crouched beside her, a smug grin still plastered to his face. Kali narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow at him. "You can leave now," she said playfully.

Dwayne looked back at her, his expression changing as his chocolate brown eyes met her piercing green ones. Kali breathed out, shaking excess water off her, still glaring a little at Dwayne.

"What?" she asked emphatically.

His response was a soft kiss on her lips, and then pulled away. Kali looked back at him gob smacked, not quite sure what to make of it. Looking into his eyes, she felt drawn in, as though there was no escape.

"Uh … I'm sorry … I shouldn't have done that …"

Kali looked away a little, then back at him, wanting more. Sensing her interest, he leaned back toward her, she leaning in toward him.

"This is dangerous ground, Dwayne … "Kali whispered, their lips inches apart.

"Then walk away … " he whispered back. Neither could do so and their lips met again, this time the kiss deepening, Dwayne cupping her face in his hands. Kali wrapped her arms around his neck, Dwayne easing her back onto the sand, their lips not leaving each other's.


	14. Dangerous Ground

Kali leant her head back as Dwayne moved to kiss along her throat, fangs grazing gently. Her head moved to the side and her eyes came to rest on the cave in the distance. David. Kali snapped back to reality and pushed Dwayne off her. "Dwayne … we can't …"

Dwayne looked back at her disappointed. God, he wanted her more than anything. But she was right. She was David's. Could he really do that to David? "I'm sorry, Kali …"

Kali sat up, hugging her knees to her chest and shook her head. "It's OK … it's not your fault … it's both of us …"

Dwayne pulled himself into a sitting position and looked over at Kali, intense lust in his eyes.

Kali turned to look back at him too. Her lust matched Dwayne's. She could feel it, and that was what scared her. Could she do it? Be with Dwayne and betray David? She wanted to … and it wasn't as calculated as all that. Lust was a powerful thing. Kali reached out to stroke his face. She couldn't deny that there had been something between them from the moment they'd met.

Dwayne closed his eyes and nuzzled her hand with his lips. She was so beautiful … he just couldn't let it go. Everything about her made him want her. Her fiery spirit. Her beauty. Her strength. Her mischievousness.

Not quite conscious of what she was doing, Kali leaned back in and kissed Dwayne softly, the taste of his soft lips sending her heart racing.

Dwayne cupped her cheek in his hand and deepened the kiss, bringing the other hand up to cup the other cheek.

Kali couldn't deny the feeling between them any longer and she wanted him like nothing she had ever wanted before. She kissed him back hungrily, letting him once again push her back into the sand.

Dwayne ran his hands under her wet singlet, moaning softly at the feel of her beautiful skin beneath his fingers. He leant down and kissed her soft belly, running his tongue along it gently as he slowly lifted the singlet off her and discarded it behind her in the sand. He kissed his way up further and along her perfect breasts, teasing her nipples gently.

Kali leant her head back further into the sand, moaning at his touch. It was magic. She ran her nails up along his bare chest and shifted his jacket off his shoulders, leaning up to kiss his flawless skin, nipping at it gently. Damn, what was she doing? Kali fiddled with the button on his jeans, slowly shimmying them off him as he did the same to her. This was crazy. Both knew it was wrong, but neither wanted to stop … or could stop for that matter.

Dwayne entered her gently, leaning forward and burying his face in her hair as he began to slowly move in her, closing his eyes, loving the incredible feeling she was giving him.

Kali wrapped her legs around Dwayne and thrust her hips upward to meet his, moving slowly in time. "Oh Dwayne …" she breathed, moving faster against him.

Dwayne met her pace, kissing her lips hungrily as he moved back along to kiss her throat, his fangs teasing her.

"Do it!" Kali whispered.

Dwayne didn't need to be asked twice, and sank his fangs gently into Kali's neck.

Kali whimpered loudly as she felt Dwayne's fangs penetrate her neck. "Oh hell …" she whispered, pushing harder against him

Dwayne drank only a small amount, before pulling away and met her lips in a bloodied kiss, moving faster and faster, feeling a climax near. He ran his hands down her sides, massaging them gently, thrusting harder into her.

Not able to contain herself any longer, Kali moaned loudly, calling his name as the wave of an orgasm rode through her.

Dwayne followed suit, a climax hitting him. "Oh god, Kali … " he managed, feeling the last of the climax wash through him and slowly relaxed, leaning his head on Kali's chest.

Kali smiled, feeling content and brushed Dwayne's hair out of his face, stroking his face soothingly. "Wow … "she whispered.

Lying on her chest, feeling it rise and fall rhythmically, soothed Dwayne and a smile crossed his face. "Wow is right."

The two lay there quietly, basking in the afterglow of what they had just done. Each felt amazing, though as fantastic as they felt, each was now going through the consequences in their head. What this now meant. For them. For David. All they knew was that it was far from over…

2


	15. Point of no return

After a few moments more, Dwayne rolled off Kali and lay back in the sand, staring at the sky, fulfilled and content. She had been amazing, though now, things were going to change between them…to what degree…well that was unknown.

Grabbing his discarded jeans, he pulled them on and sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. Why oh why did she have to be so perfect? It had always been like that as long as he could remember. David always got first dibs and goddamit it wasn't fair! The passion and desire that had filled them both was so intense, he wanted more. Much more. And whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not, he wasn't going to let this go easily.

Kali scrabbled around for her clothing, silently putting it back on. There was no denying the intensity of what she'd just shared with Dwayne and there was no denying they'd been attracted to each other from the moment they'd met. Kali didn't know what to do now. They'd crossed a line, and although she felt bad for betraying David, she knew that her attraction to Dwayne was more than just fleeting. They'd just been trying to ignore things, for David's sake.

Looking over at him as he stared out at the ocean, Kali admired his physique – long, dark, flowing hair that cascaded down his back; toned torso and rich Native American features. Her eyes travelled over him and back up. How could she possibly keep her hands to herself?

Dwayne turned to look at her, giving her a small smile. Neither of them knew what to say first or how to bring up what they were both thinking. Eventually, Dwayne stood up, grabbing his shirt and threw it on over his head, holding out a hand to Kali. She gratefully took it and stood up, the two heading back toward the cave.

They walked in silence for a while, hand in hand, occasionally looking at the other with a smile. Kali had been a vampire five minutes and now she was in a love triangle with two of them. What was she doing? She stopped then, holding her head in her hands.

"Dwayne...I…I don't know what to do…about this…about us…about David…I just…it's not that simple anymore…I mean…if it was something I could write off to temporary insanity…I would…but I can't…" she whispered, looking up at him.

Dwayne stopped and turned to face her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, it's OK. We'll work it out."

Kali shook her head. "You know it'd break David if he found out."

Dwayne looked at her seriously. "Then we don't tell him."

Kali looked back at him incredulously, as though the thought had never occurred to her. "Not tell him? W…I…well…how are we going to keep it a secret?"

Dwayne shrugged. "We just have to…"

Kali's eyes darted around nervously. "He'll know, Dwayne. I'm his childe. _You're_his childe. He'll know we've done something or at the very least are hiding something…"

Dwayne cupped her face then and looked deeply into her eyes. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Kali looked back at him, uneasy. She trusted him and she knew he _wouldn't_ let anything happen to her, though that did little to ease her guilt. There was a much stronger connection between her and Dwayne. Kali felt bad as David was her lover, her sire. He'd be mortified if he knew that two of his childe had betrayed him!

Dwayne leant down and kissed her softly. "We'll deal with it tomorrow night, but for now, the sun is close to rising and we have to get back to the cave."

Kali nodded. That explained her sudden tiredness. They walked the rest of the way back to the cave and quietly down into the main area. David was still asleep on the bed, the way she'd left him. Dwayne held Kali's hand to his lips and kissed it gently, bidding her a silent goodnight.

Stripping down, Kali climbed back into bed, being careful not to wake David. She rolled onto her side and watched as he slumbered. So still. So beautiful. Closing her eyes, a tear made its way down her cheek as the reality of what she'd done hit her. Opening her eyes, Kali stroked David's cheek gently, swallowing hard. "What've I done?" she whispered, her lip trembling slightly before she finally felt sleep call.


	16. Where to now?

The next evening, Kali stirred, slowly blinking her surroundings into focus. David was still lying peacefully asleep, innocent and angelic. Kali couldn't help but smirk at the irony.

Climbing out of bed gently, so as not to wake David, Kali pulled on her leather pants and black singlet along with her boots and headed out of the cave. The air was crisp with a slight wind, blowing Kali's ebony hair gently around her. Normally, such a wind used to make her shiver. Settling herself on the bluff, she hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath out. Memories of the previous night came flooding back to her. Why had she been so stupid? How had she let it happen? Now she was no better than Michael or Donna. She had condemned them for the same thing she had just done herself. She could try and convince herself that her situation was different, but that would be lying to herself and she knew it.

The frustrating thing was that this was far from over. The attraction to Dwayne was intense and wasn't going anywhere any time soon. Her attraction to David was different, more of a saviour and comfort as opposed to burning lust. Kali groaned out loud. What a mess! The question was, what was she going to do? This was not just going to go away...

Kali felt a hand begin to stroke her head in long, gentle strokes. Slowly, she lifted her head to find Dwayne crouched next to her, his brooding face full of concern. Kali's eyes searched his, trying to make sense of the situation, though neither could find the right words to say. Kali swallowed hard, biting her lip and forcing back tears. "I feel trapped, Dwayne," she whispered, managing to speak.

Dwayne nodded. "It's an impossible situation, Kali. I...I don't want to lose you...but I... don't want to cause you pain at my expense either..."

Kali shook her head gently. "Dwayne, I'm just as guilty as you are. And you know...if I could walk away and put it down to stupidity, I wouldn't be sitting here struggling with it."

Dwayne nodded again and moved to rest his forehead against Kali's. "We'll figure out a way to get through this. I don't know how...I mean, as you said...we're his childe...he's...in love with you...and you with him...I see no other way Kali...you have to choose..."

Kali lifted her head so that their noses touched and she could look directly into his eyes. "It's not fair," she croaked. "I don't want to choose...I know that's selfish..." Kali grazed his lips with hers. "It might not make a lot of sense...but I feel somehow closer to you...I don't know why...yet the thought of losing David..."

Dwayne pressed his lips gently to hers, kissing her softly and stroking the back of his hand gently along her cheek. "Kali...it has to be your decision...whatever you choose...I will accept and deal with."

Kali hugged him tightly to her, resting her chin on his shoulder, tears flowing down her cheeks. He smelled so good, his hair, his skin...

"Kali? Dwayne?" David's voice said quietly, snapping her out of her reverie. "What's going on?"


	17. What's going on?

Kali let go of Dwayne gently. If she'd let go abruptly, it would arouse suspicion that she had been doing something wrong. As she broke from Dwayne, Kali wiped at her eyes and sniffed back a few tears.

Dwayne stepped back quietly and stood with his hands in his pockets, letting Kali handle this.

David cupped Kali's face in his hands, looking at her with concern. "What's wrong?"

Trying to collect herself, Kali took a deep breath. "Ah...I was just...I was sitting on the bluff...just doing some thinking...I got a little bit nostalgic about my mortal life, just dwelling on things you know? About Michael and Donna...my parents. Dwayne saw me sitting here crying and he was just giving me some comfort."

David looked over at Dwayne, who's eyes told nothing. David wasn't entirely convinced that was all it was, though he let it go. He had no proof. Kali hadn't lied to him before, so he wasn't going to suspect anything yet... Putting his arm around her, David kissed the top of her head gently. "It's OK...you'll feel out of sorts sometimes in the first little while after being turned. I have an idea..." and turned to face Dwayne as well. "There's a party tonight in the Vertullo house, you know the enormous white house just behind the sideshow area of the boardwalk? Owned by a very wealthy family. Their son is hosting it. I think...it could make for a very interesting night, no?" he said with a devilish grin. David and the boys had been to the Vertullo house previously. There was always plenty to go around...

Kali cracked a smile, starting to feel better. It _did_ sound like fun. "Well...count me in then," she said happily.

Dwayne had a mischievous grin on his face as well. He had been to enough of these 'parties' to know what sort of fun and antics could be had and the food choices to enjoy.

"We should get ready. Especially you," David told Kali. "We need you looking hotter than hot...won't be too hard I think," and bit her neck playfully.

Kali smiled and looked over at Dwayne, her eyes thanking him silently for his discretion.

The three walked back to the cave in silence, Dwayne flopping onto the couch as soon as they returned. He picked up a magazine and began flicking through it. No sooner had he settled into reading, a loud 'Bonsaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!' was heard and Paul came hurtling over the couch to lay it on it as he often did, though this time, as he went to land, noticed Dwayne, but it was too late and as Paul tried to move, he wasn't quick enough and landed smack on top of Dwayne.

Kali's head snapped up hearing Paul's scream, wondering what the hell was going on. When she saw what had happened, she burst into hysterics. "Oh for the love of...you two take it outside will you?" she warned, seeing the dark look on Dwayne's face and the sheepish look on Paul's.

"Heh, sorry man..." Paul said, weakly apologising.

Dwayne took a deep breath, fighting not to pound Paul, though he let it go.

Paul took that opportunity as an out and clambered onto the reception desk, where he picked up a half drunk bottle of JD and took a swig. "Sooo...we all ready to go to this parrrrrrrrrtaaaaaaaay?"

Marko came out of the back cave area and jumped up onto the desk with Paul, letting out a loud holler of approval.

Dwayne was silent and looked over at Kali so he could roll his eyes at her to show his annoyance at Paul, though he almost had a heart attack at what he saw.

Kali finished lacing the last hook on her boots before standing up and smoothing her hair into a sleek ponytail. She had on black, thigh high PVC boots along with matching black PVC mini shorts and a cropped black PVC corset, covered in buckles and D-rings. Adorning her neck was a red diamante velvet collar and matching wrist collars. Her eyes were a rich smoky red and black and her lips were a deep red.

Paul glanced over at Kali, immediately stopping his hollering. He grabbed Marko distractedly and nodded in Kali's direction. "I never thought I'd say this...but I think I've died and gone to heaven..."

"Whoa..." was all Marko could manage.

Dwayne stared silently, desperately wanting to pin her to the nearest wall. Was it possible she got hotter each night?

David wandered in then, having changed into a fresh black shirt for the party. Noticing it was quiet and that the boys seemed to be mesmerised by something, he followed their gaze and smirked, realising what they were all gawking over.

Kali looked up and noticed the boys staring at her. Her eyes darted between the four, a small smirk forming along her lips. She had never seen them so silent. "So I guess it works, huh?" she asked.

Vague nods and lolling tongues. Paul let out a loud howl.

David moved to her, eying her lustfully. "Damn...this is going to be one helllllll of a party," he managed. "It's a crime really...you're gonna make it too easy..." and kissed along her neck seductively.

Hoots and howls from Marko and Paul.

Kali glanced over to Dwayne, who looked sadly back at her.

Dwayne wanted his hands on her. On every part of her. Well who knew...maybe he'd get a chance at the party...if they drank enough...he could blame the alcohol...


	18. Expect the Unexpected

Soon enough, the five of them headed out into the night toward the Vertullo house. Marko and Paul mounted their bikes, chattering eagerly about the night ahead. Dwayne silently moved toward his own bike, sneaking glances at Kali where he could, making sure not to catch David's eye. Kali climbed onto the back of David's bike and snuck a glance over in Dwayne's direction, smiling somewhat wistfully at him.

Kali felt like such a heel. She'd been a vampire for 5 minutes and already she'd caused potential dissension in the ranks. Dwayne was David's second in command. Would he betray David for her? Kali shivered slightly at the thought. She didn't want that! She couldn't have that! What the hell was she doing? She loved David!

In some strange way, Kali almost could empathise with Michael and Donna. Almost. Sometimes you couldn't explain attraction and why one person attracts you more than another. Maybe that had been the case with Michael and Donna? Had it been ego? Had it been lust? Had it been drunken stupidity? In any case, Kali was starting to understand that you couldn't always explain feelings or what drew you to a person. It was just that 'unknown' factor, a feeling you couldn't quantify.

Feeling a little melancholy at the mess she'd already managed to get herself into, Kali wrapped her arms around David's waist and leant her head against his back as he started up the bike then took off along the bluff, the boys in tow. Kali decided not to think about it anymore. At least for now. She needed to concentrate on the night ahead. Having fun and hunting. She certainly didn't want to be the wet blanket. Besides, as far as the rest were concerned, there was no reason for her to feel that way. It would raise suspicion. Kali knew she could potentially put it down to immortal adjustment, though she didn't want to risk it.

Riding along at top speed, Kali lifted her head off David's back and sat up straight, feeling oddly stable. Previous times when she'd been on the back of his bike, she felt like she'd had to really hold on or else she'd lose her balance, though now something was different. Kali let go of David's waist, not holding on any longer and felt her body stay perfectly still. Slowly, she raised her arms out, to see if that would make a difference. It didn't. A slow smile crept its way across her face. This was amazing! Throwing her arms into the air, Kali let out a loud whoop of excitement. She was still sitting perfectly still and didn't feel the need to grip the bike with her thighs. Her balance was perfect, yet another plus in being a vampire.

Kali turned behind her to grin at Dwayne, who was riding immediately behind David. Marko and Paul moved to ride on either side of Dwayne, grinning back at Kali, knowing the elation she was feeling right now. They had all gone through it themselves. Soon, all four of them were whooping with excitement. David laughed out loud, happy his pack was enjoying themselves. It helped to keep things close-knit.

Coming into the main area of Santa Carla, the group zoomed along the boardwalk, still hollering at the tops of their lungs, Kali included. As they passed by The Enchanted Forest store, Kali noticed Arielle standing out front, having a cigarette. She smirked as Arielle recognised her, though the faint nod and smirk in return made Kali laugh out loud. This was her new life now and she loved it!

As they pulled up outside the Vertullo house, Kali's mouth dropped as she took in the size of the place. It was 4 storeys high and almost the same in width.

"Holy shit," she whispered, in awe.

"Holy shit is right," David replied, laughing. "Wait till you get inside! These parties are _always_ brimming with…people," he said, refraining from using the word 'food'. The other boys snickered in amusement and dismounted before heading inside.

Walking through the front door, Kali tried to hide her amazement at the beautiful house. She certainly didn't want to look like a tourist! She had to be all sultry and seductive if she wanted to feed. Noting the looks she was getting, it didn't seem to take much effort. One girl even smacked the guy she was with, who Kali guessed must've been the girl's boyfriend, for staring almost open-mouthed. Kali smirked and continued on through the house.

"_Alright boys…and girl…keep your eyes peeled for potentials," _David sent to the group.

It took Kali a second to realise David hadn't spoken out loud. She smirked to herself in amusement. This mental messaging business was _very_ handy!

"_I suggest we split up. Less conspicuous that way,"_ David added, and with that, the boys dispersed, though not before Dwayne gave Kali a quick wink. Kali grinned and turned away before David could notice.

A moment later, David was at her side, giving her neck a brief kiss. "Alright hot stuff, go and have fun. Just remember…inconspicuous," he said, giving her butt a playful smack.

Kali moved in the opposite direction to David, eyes peeled for someone hot to play with. As she moved through the crowd, both guys and girls looked her over with interest. It seemed as though she certainly had her pick.

As she grabbed a drink off a passing tray, Kali raised the glass to her lips to take a sip. She'd barely swallowed any when a familiar set of eyes swam into view, looking almost soullessly at her. Slowly, Kali lowered her glass, not believing what she saw. It wasn't possible. There was no way…

The figure approached her in slow, purposeful steps, a smug grin on its face. If it weren't for her unconscious immortal strength, Kali would've dropped her glass, though she knew that was the last thing she wanted – to draw any more attention to herself right now.

Soon, the figure was standing right in front of her. Every inch of her told her to run or to at least do something, but there she stood, frozen to the spot. Kali swallowed hard, wondering why she was afraid. She was immortal and had the strength of one to boot, though she knew it wasn't a matter of strength. It was sheer amazement…or was that horror?

The figure raised an eyebrow at her, still smug and ran the back of its hand down her cheek, knowing it would affect her – was affecting her. Kali flinched at the cool touch, though she knew it wasn't the temperature alone that made her jump.

"We meet again," the figure said coolly, a hint of acidity in the words.

Kali swallowed again. "Hello, Michael," she said softly, eventually finding her voice.


End file.
